20 Questions
by Seaheeler
Summary: Life raises a lot of questions and most of the time the answers are simple, but feelings make can make them complicated...
1. Chapter 1

Hey kids!

I'm baaaack! I hear the cheers and the groans haha.

In true form i have finished another 2 fics but I'm not happy with them and so I started a new one, so here it is...

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters nor did i create them, i only use them for my own entertainment...

This fic was supposed to take place sometime after season 4 but there's a few things from season 5 that get mentioned. But you know me, making up my own rules and time lines haha. So maybe i should say it's after season 5 episode 4, spoils of war, where Maxine tells Kate to back off but in this story Jim hasn't returned.

Don't forget to review, pretty please...

Okay enough from me...

20 Questions

Chapter 1.

"So...You and the Boss huh?"

Kate froze mid drink, her mind raced with excuses and explanations but she knew that he knew the truth, there was no point trying to hide it. She lowered her drink and glanced over to Dutchy.

"Ah yeah, it's a long story, but it doesn't really matter now..."

She trailed off and took another sip of her drink hoping he would get the hint and drop it. Dutchy was confused, he had seen them kiss on the boat, and they obviously had feelings for each other. He finished his drink and dared to ask more.

"Why not?"

Kate swished the wine around in her glass avoiding his eye contact and sighed.

"He's been reassigned for another 12 months."

Dutchy suddenly felt uncomfortable, this was obviously not her choice, he was sorry he brought it up.

"Oh, sorry Kate, I didn't know!"

Kate shrugged trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal.

"Maxine told me this morning, no one knew, she hadn't even told Mike yet."

Dutchy cringed.

"That sucks!"

Kate swallowed the rest of her drink and nodded, he sensed that she needed to vent and topped up their glasses.

"Yeah and she knew about us..."

Dutchy nearly spat out his mouthful.

"What?"

Kate rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Yeah, she said she trusted us so she didn't take any action..."

Dutchy took a sip and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think she'd do that for anyone? I mean, Mike is her favourite right?"

Kate didn't have a chance to answer as there was a knock on the door, she got up to answer it. She swung open the door and swore in her head as she saw Mike standing in front of her.

"Ah Mike, what are you doing here?"

He attempted to walk in to the house, she put her arm out and held the door frame to stop him. He looked up at her surprised that she was denying him entry.

"I think we need to discuss what happened today..."

She shook her head slightly indicating that she didn't want to discuss it, he frowned and glanced behind her. He spotted Dutchy, he changed the tone in his voice, trying to hide his annoyance. He cleared his throat.

"Oh Dutchy, hi, umm, I was just..."

Dutchy looked nervous, he didn't want to be a part of whatever was going to unfold.

"Ah, I can go if you guys need to..."

Kate looked back at him and shook her head and interrupted him.

"It's fine Dutchy..."

She turned back to face Mike and glared at him.

"There's nothing to talk about..."

Mike glanced over to Dutchy wondering if Kate had told him about them, he leaned closer to her not wanting him to hear.

"I think there is..."

Kate started to get frustrated, she was sick of talking about it, sick of thinking about it. She wanted to move on and he wouldn't let her.

"No, don't do this now! Maxine was right, what would this do to our reputation?"

Mike put his hands up to pause the conversation, he was instantly irritated. He started to raise his voice forgetting Dutchy was there.

"Wait a minute, you discussed this with Maxine? And is your reputation all you care about?"

Kate didn't want to create a scene in front of Dutchy but Mike wasn't listening, her tone matched his and her volume was louder.

"No Mike, she knew! I don't know how, but she did! And if you think that my reputation is all I care about you obviously don't know me at all!"

They stood there locked in each other's stare, Kate was the first to break eye contact, she dropped her head and whispered.

"Just go, please..."

She went to shut the door, he put his hand out to stop it and lowered his voice.

"Just tell me one thing Kate...do you still love me?"

Kate's eyes welled with tears, she couldn't answer. She loved him enough to let him go, why couldn't he see that. Maxine was right, his career was important to him and it was important to her too and this relationship wasn't going to ruin them both. She looked up into his eyes, he could see the desperation in them.

"Mike, please! Don't make this harder than it already is..."

She attempted to close the door again, Mike moved his hand, he knew he had been defeated. The door gently clicked shut, Kate watched though the peep hole as he walked away.

Dutchy stood there frozen, he didn't know what to do. Should he leave her to have some time? Should he hug her to comfort her? He walked up behind her, she stood with her back to him still staring at the front door. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, he whispered her name.

"Kate?"

She turned to face him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Tell me how Dutchy..."

He looked concerned and confused, he wanted to help but he didn't know what she was referring to. He placed both hands on her shoulders with a worried look on his face.

"How what?"

She looked up at him, he had never seen a look so heartbreaking. She tried to wipe away the stream of tears.

"How do you choose who you fall in love with?"

She started to sob and rested her head on his chest. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her. Her sobs became heavier, he squeezed her tight and rubbed her back.

"I dunno Kate, maybe I was wrong..."

Mike stormed up Maxine's front path and pounded on the door. Maxine got up from her couch looking annoyed, who would bang on her door like that? Her frustrated expression dropped as saw the enraged face of Mike standing on her door step.

"Mike? What are you doing here?"

He pushed his way into her house, Maxine was left standing at the door with it wide open.

"Yeah, come on in..."

He stood in the lounge room looking like he was going to explode, she walked over to him and stood in front of him. Mike glared at her like she could read his mind, Maxine was still puzzled as to why he looked so angry.

"What did you say to her?"

Maxine frowned, she didn't understand his cryptic question.

"Huh?"

He stepped closer and raised his voice.

"Kate, what did you say to her?"

Maxine sighed, his anger made sense now. She sat on the couch as he paced in front of her, she was silent as she tried to think of an explanation that didn't sound heartless.

"Mike, think about it, what would people think?!"

She cringed, that wasn't it. He shot a look at her and stood above her.

"I don't care what people think Maxine, this is my life..."

She tried to calm him, she pulled on his arm to sit down, he gave in and sat down.

"Mike, the Navy is your life! The sea is your life! Tell me, what would you do if you weren't in the Navy?"

He paused, he had no idea. She could see he was thinking so she took the opportunity to continue.

"Mike, I knew about you and Kate from the beginning, I heard about what happened at Watson's bay..."

Mike was stunned, how did she know? They were good friends, how did she not tell him that she knew?

"How come you..."

She interrupted.

"I trusted both of you and it wasn't affecting your work, well until now! You're about to throw away everything for her..."

He stood up, his anger had returned, why did she make it sound like such a bad thing?

"So what?"

She stood next to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, she needed to get through to him no matter how much he didn't want to hear it.

"Have you ever tried real life Mike? Your life at sea is totally different and a hundred times harder if you're both at sea. If you were to continue this you would be on different boats and have different schedules. You see your crew members relationships suffer all the time. Bomber and 2Dads, how long did that last? And Swain's relationship nearly ended because he was never home and he missed the birth of his child. Just think Mike, no matter what you think I'm trying to help you! This would not bring you together, this would tear you apart!"

Mike knew that Maxine was trying to be his boss and his friend, he knew it wasn't easy. He sat down frustrated, he was more upset that the things Maxine was saying were true.

"Mike, would you really be happy at Navcom if Kate was out at sea? I know how protective you are, or do you think Kate would be happy on shore waiting for you? She loves you enough to let you go, do the same for her..."

Mike put his head in his hands, he was beyond confused. If he felt this strongly shouldn't they be together? But if being together hurt her he couldn't bear that either. He swallowed hard and rubbed his hands over his face, he had to make the right decision for everyone. He sat up and leant back on the couch and sighed.

"If I'm not with her I can't be here..."

Maxine put her hand on his shoulder, she expected him to fight harder. She was glad he had made the right decision but this part wasn't the solution she was expecting.

"Mike, don't make any decisions now, not like this..."

He looked up at her, she could see he was torn.

"This is the only way I'm going to be able to let her go, please help me Max."

Maxine sighed, she didn't think this was the best way but at least he wasn't going to lose his job over it.

"Come and see me tomorrow and we can talk, but only after you had a good think and have slept on it."

He nodded a left, Maxine sat there wondering if she had pushed too far.

Kate's house.

Dutchy sat on the couch next to Kate, she had composed herself enough to talk about it.

"I think deep down I knew it was never going to work and this was just a way out, it's better this way..."

Dutchy wanted to be supportive but he was surprised at her conclusion, the way he had seen them act before wasn't about a fling, they had been in love.

"Are you sure?"

She avoided his question, she picked up her glass of wine and finished it off.

"4 years Dutchy, we had 4 years to get it together. He turned down 2 shore postings, promotions even, in a year. If he really wanted this then he would have taken them."

Dutchy had a lot of questions but he wasn't sure if he should ask them.

"Did you guys ever talk about the future, about being together?"

She shook her head and poured another drink.

"Barely, and that was a lot of the problem. He would never talk to me about *our* future."

She scoffed thinking back on the one conversation they had had about children.

"When I asked him if he wanted kids, he said that he'd never thought about it. You would think that if you had someone in your life that you loved, even if you weren't together, that you would think about the future and family?"

She was right, he could see she was tipsy and didn't want to upset her more. Drinking and break ups went hand in hand but he wasn't used to the girl side of the conversation. He didn't know how to make her feel better so he kept his answers to a minimum.

"Yeah, I guess..."

She finished yet another glass and nearly missed placing it on the table.

"I need to move on, I'm not getting any younger."

Dutchy laughed and patted her leg.

"Kate, you're not in a walking frame yet! You've got plenty of time!"

She looked at him, tears threatening to spill again.

"Do I?"

The next morning Mike knocked on Maxine's office door. He stood there determined for her not to change his mind, he wasn't going to let anyone change his mind.

"Come in..."

Mike entered and sat at Maxine's desk stone faced.

"I want a transfer."

Maxine sighed, she knew he wasn't going to budge.

"I thought as much, I already made some calls this morning. There's a CO that's willing to swap positions with you."

Mike didn't react.

"Mike, did you hear me?"

He looked at his feet.

"It's just, I thought that Kate would..."

Maxine shook her head.

"Sorry Mike, there aren't any CO positions available so it's a swap and Kate will stay on as XO."

Mike paused for a moment, he stood up.

"Okay, submit the paperwork..."

Maxine nodded.

"It'll be fast Mike, he wants to be out ASAP..."

Mike looked concerned and sat back down.

"Ah, why? What kind of ship am I inheriting?

Maxine shook her head.

"It's nothing like that, it's the Launceston, nothing wrong with the crew. Now you didn't hear it from me but Commander Riley has just had a messy divorce so he wants to move on ASAP."

Mike laughed on the inside, they were both running away, how ironic.

"Thanks Max."

He gave her a hug and headed for the door, he stopped and turned.

"I have one more favour..."

Maxine raised an eyebrow.

"You're pushing your luck Flynn!"

He smiled nervously, he knew it was a lot to ask.

"Can you tell the crew?"

Maxine jumped up from her seat, she wasn't impressed.

"Mike! They deserve to hear it from you!"

"I can't Max, I'm gonna book my flight for tomorrow so I can get my bearings around Coonawarra. It would be a great help if you could get my things packed and sent, just get someone to do it and send me the bill."

Mike left, Maxine sat back down at her desk wondering if this was a mistake.

The next day Maxine had called the crew into Navcom. They had all gathered in a conference room waiting for her, Kate entered and looked around for Mike. Dutchy entered and sat next to her.

"Any idea what this is about?"

Kate shook her head, Maxine entered the room. The crew stood up, Maxine cleared her throat.

"Ah, sit down everyone..."

They all sat looking at each other wondering what was going on.

"I've called you all in to make an announcement. Umm, Commander Flynn will no longer be CO of Hammersley, he's taken a new position..."

Dutchy nudged Kate and whispered.

"Maybe he's finally come to his senses..."

Maxine paused, she could see lots of worried faces.

"He will be CO of HMAS Launceston at the Coonawarra HQ..."

Kate and the rest of the crew were shocked, she gasped and put her hand over her mouth, she didn't mean it to be so dramatic. Maxine shuffled on the spot.

"So, you will be getting a new CO..."

Dutchy smiled and nudged Kate again.

"Maybe it's not all bad..."

She smiled slightly, trying not to get her hopes up. Maxine glanced at Kate checking that she was okay. She took a deep breath in and looked re focused.

"So, I hope you will all welcome your new CO, Commander Mark Riley."

Mark entered the room, Kate forced a smile. She took a few deep breaths in, Dutchy leaned over towards her.

"You okay?"

She nodded trying not to lose it. Maxine started to introduce Mark to the crew.

"Commander this is your XO, Kate McGregor..."

Kate stepped forward and smiled.

"Sir..."

He raised an eyebrow looking her up and down.

"Hmm, never had a female XO before..."

Kate didn't know whether he was just thinking out loud of if he had an issue with her being a female, she shot an unimpressed look at Maxine.

Dutchy stepped toward him trying to break the awkward moment, he shook his hand.

"Best XO I've ever had Sir, I'm Petty Officer Mulholland, but everyone calls me Dutchy..."

Mark shook his hand.

"Hmmm, well we'll see about that..."

Kate couldn't bear being in the room, she pretended her phone was ringing.

"Oh please excuse me Sir, I've been waiting for this call..."

She didn't wait for a response and left the room, Maxine sensed something was wrong and followed. Kate calmly walked out into the corridor, she didn't know what to do so she ran to the bathroom before anyone saw her tears. She put both hands on the basin to support herself, she looked into the mirror as tears flowed from her eyes. Maxine walked in starling her, she quickly wiped her tear stained face and stood at attention.

"Ma'am..."

Maxine walked towards her with a sympathetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry Kate, he said he couldn't tell you himself..."

Kate stood there trying to hold back the tears.

"So he's just gone?"

Maxine nodded.

"This morning, he thought it would be easier, so you could both move on..."

Kate sighed.

"He didn't need to do it like this though..."

Maxine nodded slightly.

"You know he's not good at emotional things Kate..."

Kate scoffed, she was now more angry than upset. She deserved more than this.

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me that!"

Kate splashed some water on her face, she didn't want to shed anymore tears over this little own anyone at Navcom see her cry.

They exited the bathroom, Dutchy was waiting for her outside. As Maxine walked off she glanced back and saw Dutchy giving her a hug. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head and continued to her office.

Kate pulled away from Dutchy remembering where they were.

"Probably not the best idea to do that here, Navy gossip!"

Dutchy rolled his eyes.

"Are you okay? I'm assuming you didn't know?"

Kate shook her head.

"No, Maxine said he left this morning."

Dutchy nudged her.

"C'mon, let's cheer you up! Lunch and drinks at mine?"

Kate smiled.

"Yeah, wine, lots of wine!"

Kate and Dutchy sat out on the deck.

"Maxine said he did it to make our lives easier, so that we could move on."

Dutchy understood to a point but like Kate he didn't approve of him just up and leaving.

"I guess..."

Kate swallowed the rest of her glass.

"A goodbye would have been nice!"

Dutchy filled her glass and tried to make her feel a bit better.

"Guys aren't good and goodbyes Kate, plus when was Mike ever open about his feelings?"

The both laughed, Kate lifted her glass to toast.

"To moving on!"

Dutchy clicked his glass with hers.

"So umm, this new CO should be interesting, he seems pretty old school...

He smirked and glanced at her out the corner of his eye.

"A bit like you when you first started!"

Kate could see the smiled grow on his face, she sat up frowned at him.

"Hey! You weren't even there when I started?!"

Dutchy laughed.

"Navy gossip!"

Dutchy thought it was best to change the subject.

"So umm, are we going man hunting for you this weekend then?"

Kate scoffed and poured herself another.

"Hardly! I wouldn't even know where to start anymore Dutchy!"

He nudged her with his shoulder.

"Yeah you do! Didn't you meet Captain Roth online?"

"How did..."

Dutchy smirked, she rolled her eyes.

"Navy gossip..."

She shook her head.

"Nah, can't do that again Dutchy, too hard, plus I don't have the time..."

She swallowed her wine.

"I'll just be a spinster..."

"What about a family, isn't that what you want?"

Kate sighed.

"Yeah, I just can't see myself with anyone right now... plus what kinda of person would want to date someone in the Navy. I'm never home and when I am I get crash sailed, it'd just be a lot easier if we could date each other and if those others weren't emotionally crippled!"

Dutchy couldn't help but laugh.

"We're not all like that Kate!"

He wrapped his arm around her and she leant into his nook.

"Anyway, what do I need a boyfriend for? I've got you!"

Dutchy didn't respond, she started to drift off to sleep, the wine had gotten to her. She snuggled into him.

"Don't leave me okay?"

He laughed a little.

"Promise..."

End of Chapter 1. Xx


	2. Chapter 2

Hey people,

Here's chapter 2!

Thanks to everyone who left a review, much appreciated.

In re reading and writing this fic I have noticed that there's not a lot of Navy action in this lol. But I figure that's okay, after all, the personal lives of the characters are what made the show much more interesting lol.

Disclaimer: do I really need to spell it out? Don't own them, didn't create them, please don't sue me.

Please keep leaving reviews :)

20 Questions

Chapter 2

Later that evening Kate awoke on Dutchy's couch, her mind was fuzzy and her head was pounding. She bolted up right looking around, how did she get inside? She winced and held her hand to her head, it felt like it was going to explode. She stretched and stumbled up off the couch, she spotted Dutchy on the deck and walked over to the door and watched him for a moment. He was leaning against the railing watching the sun set deep in thought, he felt her watching him and turned and smiled.

"Ah, you're awake..."

Kate was slightly embarrassed, she wasn't normally the type to drink too much and spill her feelings. She stepped out on to the deck and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I think the mix of the shock from Mike leaving, my promotion dreams coming crashing down and a bottle of wine and no food caught up to me!"

Dutchy laughed and noticed her rosy cheeks, she didn't need to be embarrassed, if anything it made him like her more.

"No need to apologise! So umm, you okay?"

She nodded and he turned his attention back to the sunset. She walked over to him and stood next to him and looked up at him quizzically.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?"

He shrugged still watching the sunset.

"Thinking..."

She scrunched up her face and nudged him with her hip.

"Don't think too hard, you may hurt yourself."

He gave a little laugh still not making eye contact with her. She looked out over the water, he was being unusually quiet, she could tell something was wrong.

"Seriously though, everything okay with you?"

She saw him nod ever so slightly.

"You just made me think about what I want, that's all..."

Dutchy glanced at her, she was about to make a joke but saw the serious look on his face. She leant against him and sighed.

"Yeah well don't listen to me! I'm a mess!"

The next morning Kate and Dutchy arrived at the docks to find the Commander Riley already waiting for them, he was standing at the gangway with a stern look on his face.

"Thought you would have arrived earlier seeming it's our first patrol?"

Kate and Dutchy looked at each other, neither of them expected the attitude. Dutchy cleared his throat.

"Ah, we're an hour early Sir, we thought that would be plenty of time to get you up to speed on our little Hammersley ways..."

Commander Riley was not impressed, he let out a small grunt and boarded the boat. Kate and Dutchy gave each other a concerned look and followed.

They walked up to the bridge after showing him around, Kate handed him a brew as he sat down in the Captain's chair.

"So Sir, what brought you to Cairns?"

He sipped on the cup and cringed.

"Eh, don't we have any decent coffee?"

He handed the cup to Dutchy, he glanced at Kate and took it back down to the galley.

"And I'm not really one for small talk XO, um are all the crew on board yet?"

She looked at her watch.

"Ah, were just waiting on 2Dads Sir, he has got 20 minutes."

He let out another grunt and got up and walked down to the dock. Kate walked over to the window as Dutchy came back up the stairs, he walked over to her and peered over her shoulder.

"Who we spying on?"

They observed 2Dads walking along the dock, his steps quickened as he saw Commander Riley waiting. He stopped in front of him and saluted, they watched as Riley gave him a serve. 2Dads ran on to the boat, Riley looked up and spotted Kate and Dutchy watching, they quickly moved away from the window. Kate sighed.

"This is gonna be a long patrol!"

3 days later.

The Hammersley crew had returned from their patrol. Kate stood nervously in front of Maxine who was sitting at her desk. Maxine scanned the document in front of her and sighed, she looked up at Kate with an unimpressed look on her face.

"What happened?"

Kate stood there with a straight face looking straight ahead.

"It's all in my report Ma'am..."

Maxine wasn't in the mood for this, she tossed the paperwork on to the desk.

"Yes, I see that, but my issue is the conflicting reports..."

Kate dropped the stone faced look and frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Maxine closed her eyes for a moment, she didn't want any more drama. She stood up and handed Kate the report from her desk.

"Ah, Commander Riley's report doesn't exactly support your actions."

Kate let out a frustrated huff and snatched the report out of Maxine's hand. It didn't surprise her, they had argued for the past 48 hours. He wouldn't trust her to do anything, he was trying to tell her how to do her job. She scanned the pages and chucked them back onto the desk.

"Ma'am, you know I'm not normally one to complain..."

Maxine raised an eyebrow and shot Kate a warning look indicating she needed to pick her next words wisely. Kate took the hint and paused trying to think of a way to explain without sounding like she was whinging.

"Okay, I acknowledge that I have strong opinions but..."

Maxine smirked and nodded along.

"I know Kate, and I normally trust those opinions so..."

Kate sat down in front of her fiddling with her tags.

"Commander Ridley and I aren't exactly the cohesive team that Commander Flynn and I were..."

Kate paused for a moment she hadn't really thought about Mike for a few days and mentioning his name made her heart stop for a moment. Maxine got up and sat next to her, she knew this was hard for her but she needed to be strong.

"Kate, it's going to take time..."

Kate shook her head knowing that wasn't the only issue.

"No, we're exact opposites, he doesn't trust me..."

Maxine placed a hand on her shoulder trying to reassure her.

"That will come with time Kate, I seem to recall you having huge doubts about PO Mulholland and now look at you, best boarding team we've got."

Kate shook her head, she didn't want to cause trouble but she wasn't happy. After the drama of the past week she needed to be happy at work because that's all she had.

"It's not the same Ma'am, I know that trust and respect are earned but my record is impeccable. I'm sure he's read my file, he has no reason to doubt me. I can't seem to do anything right, he's not open to anyone's ideas and we're not a team when the leader thinks he's better than everyone else. I umm, I want to ask for a shore posting..."

Kate froze, she didn't really know how those words came out of her mouth. Maxine looked at her disapprovingly. Kate sighed, she knew Maxine knew a lot but if she was going to get her way she was going to have to explain.

"Ma'am, I know what you must be thinking but it's not just because of that... it's everything, my life, well lack of life. I love the Navy but what chance of a life do I have out at sea? This has just given me that little extra shove, that's all."

Maxine nodded, she wasn't really happy about it but she did understand.

"So you're not just running away from the issue?"

Kate glanced up at her, she didn't know if she was having a slight dig about Mike.

"I'm not, but if I was I don't think I would be the first person you approved this for."

Kate knew she had crossed the line but it was true, if she approved Mike's transfer she shouldn't deny hers.

Maxine wasn't impressed by Kate's last comment, it read all over her face yet she knew she was right. She ignored it for both their sake and gave her a single nod.

"I just want you to be sure..."

A small smile appeared on Kate's face.

"I'm not 25 anymore, I want a family, the only men I meet out there are illegal fisherman."

Maxine gave a little chuckle.

"I think you can set your sights a little higher than that!"

"I would prefer to be here in Cairns but if that's not possible I understand."

Maxine nodded.

"I'll see what I can do Kate."

"Thanks Ma'am..."

Kate stood up and left.

A week later The Hammersley crew sat around a table at the local with shots in their hand. Dutchy held up his shot and cleared his throat.

"To the X, er the ex X now I guess... you will be missed!"

They downed their shots and Dutchy immediately headed to the bar to order another round. 2Dads nudged Kate.

"I can't believe you're leaving us to deal with Riley on our own, and now he's bringing his old XO it's gonna be a nightmare..."

Kate put her hand on 2Dads shoulder and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Sorry 2Dads, we couldn't stay as a crew forever!"

He pouted like a child, Kate let out a giggle, he looked at her and put on a sulky voice.

"Yeah, I know but I thought you we're gonna be CO!"

Kate sighed.

"Me too, but hey Dutchy's got your back!"

They looked around for him, he was at the bar talking to a woman. 2Dads scoffed.

"Yeah, until a hot model comes along!"

Kate rolled her eyes.

The next morning Kate knocked on Dutchy's door, he opened it in his boxers rubbing his eyes, he had obviously had a big night. Kate laughed at the state he was in, she put on her perky voice just to rub it in.

"Morning!"

Dutchy tried to focus his eyes and rubbed his face.

"Kate, its way to early to be that cheery."

She held up the bag of food and smiled, he immediately grabbed the bag off of her.

"You're the best!"

Dutchy opened the bag and took a deep breath in, Kate laughed.

"We didn't get to hang out much last night because you were busy umm, doing your thing!"

Dutchy glanced up at her as a woman in her underwear came down the stairs, Kate spotted her and immediately felt uncomfortable.

"Oh umm, I didn't realise you were still entertaining, I'll leave you too it..."

She walked off, Dutchy called out after her.

"Kate! Wait!"

She barely turned and waved her hand in his direction.

"No, it's okay, I'll talk to you later..."

She ran back to her car before he could stop her, the woman hugged him from behind and gave him a kiss.

"Oh, did you order breakfast? I'm starving!"

She took the bag from him leaving him standing in the door way.

"Thanks Kate..."

Later that evening Kate sat on her lounge watching TV, there was a knock on her door, she opened it and smiled.

"Feeling a little more human I see..."

He held up a bag of Chinese takeaway and grinned.

"I'm repaying the favour, I come with dinner..."

Kate smiled and let him in, they sat on the couch and Kate unpacked the take away.

"So, how was breakfast?"

Dutchy laughed.

"Great! She thought you were the uber driver, but she thought it was very thoughtful of me to order breakfast..."

Dutchy went into the kitchen to get plates and cutlery, Kate called out.

"You owe me one then!"

Dutchy nodded as he re-entered the room sat down and opened the boxes and divided the dishes between the plates.

"Yeah, I think I do, I scored a second date!"

Kate sat back on the couch with her plate resting on her knees.

"Oh, so it wasn't just a..."

Dutchy sat there and folder his arms over his chest.

"Just a what? Don't you think I want a relationship?"

Kate didn't really know so she shrugged.

"Well..."

He plonked himself next to her and looked over at her with a grin on his face.

"Well for your information Ms McGregor, I would love to be in a relationship! It's just the right woman is hard to find..."

Kate rolled her eyes and ate her food, Dutchy sat there smiling.

"So anyway, I can return the favour and try and fix you up?"

Kate nearly choked on a noodle, she put her plate down and took a sip of water.

"Ah, no thanks!"

Dutchy was slightly offended, he wondered if she thought he wouldn't pick someone appropriate. He didn't really want this to turn into a conversation about Mike so he dropped it and changed the subject.

"So, are you ready for tomorrow?"

Kate picked up her plate once again and balanced it on her knees.

"Mmm, I dunno, I guess. I feel like it's the universes cruel joke that the only position available was Mike's old job..."

Dutchy's phone beeped, he took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the message and smiled. Kate tried to peer over his shoulder to see who it was from.

"What are you smiling about?"

He eagerly typed a reply.

"It's Sarah, she's wanting to know what I'm up to, she obviously couldn't get enough of me!"

Kate rolled her eyes and continued to eat.

"Yeah, sure... Hey, you're not gonna ditch me are you?"

He chucked his phone back on to the table.

"Well not right at this minute, I gotta finish my food..."

Kate sighed and picked up a spring roll and crunched on it.

"I'm gonna be a spinster alone aren't I?"

Dutchy laughed and hit her on the leg.

"Not if you let me fix you up! C'mon double date! I promise I will find someone good!"

Kate sat there thinking about it, the only way to move on was to actually try. Plus she couldn't whinge about there being no decent guys out there if she didn't even attempt to date any of them.

"Okay, fine!"

Dutchy smiled a slightly mischievous grin, Kate shook her head at her decision, she regretted it instantly. She chucked the spring roll at him, he caught it and took a bite. She shot him a stern look.

"No one from the Navy, or the SAS!"

He smiled and chucked the spring roll back at her.

"Deal!"

The next day Kate arrived at Navcom for her first day of her new posting, she straightened her uniform and knocked on Maxine's door.

"Come in..."

Kate entered and sat opposite Maxine, she closed her laptop and looked up at her and smiled.

"Nervous?"

Kate laughed.

"Should I be?"

Maxine admired Kate's confidence but she needed to get a better poker face, she got up and sat next to her trying to make their conversation a little less official.

"So, you'll be in Mike's old office..."

Kate groaned internally but nodded and smiled on the outside.

"Figured as much!"

Maxine got up and dumped a pile of folders on her desk.

"Okay, well I'll get you started with these files, some of the cases were working on at least you know your way around!"

Kate took the files and headed to her office, she slowed down as she approached the door. She hesitated for a moment before opening it, it still had Mike's name on it. She took a breath in and turned the handle, she let the door swing right open as she stood in the doorway. She took 1 step inside the door and breathed in through her nose, she could still detect the feint smell of Mike's cologne. Kate shook her head checking herself back into reality, she immediately sat down at the desk and began to flip through the files. She was only on the second page of the first file when her phone beeped, she glanced at it, it was Dutchy. She picked up her phone to read the message.

"Happy first day!"

She smiled and replied.

"Thanks! Guess who's office I've taken over..."

"Awkward?!"

"Yup..."

"See you tonight sexy!"

Kate had to do a double take of the message.

"Ah Dutchy, WTF?"

"Hahaha, sorry that was meant for Sarah!"

"Awkward!"

Later that day Kate had only got through about half the files, she needed a break, she was going cross eyed. She got up and made her way to the break room, she was making herself a coffee when her phone beeped again, it was another message from Dutchy.

"What ya doing?"

She juggled her coffee cup and her phone trying to reply to his message.

"Coffee..."

"Get back to work slacker! Oh and I have a hot date for you on Friday! So don't crash sail us!"

Kate made her way back to her office before replying again, trying to juggle a cup of coffee while wearing a white uniform was just asking for it. She sat down at her desk to reply when another message came through.

"Don't tell me you're going to bail?!"

"Just give me a minute, I was walking back to my office..."

"And you tell me men can't multitask!"

She giggled to herself and replied.

"Aren't you sailing today?"

"Yeah, but should be back by Friday..."

"No promises, this is the Navy remember! Now stop messaging me! I've got another 107 files to get through!"

She put her phone back down on her desk and pulled another file towards her. Her phone vibrated on the desk, she glanced over to it.

"Okay..."

She focused back on the file, it vibrated again.

"I'll stop"

"I promise!"

"Now"

"No, now"

Kate rolled her eyes and picked up her phone and typed back.

"Stop!"

She waited for about 30 seconds before she put her phone back down, he didn't reply.

Later that day Maxine barged into Kate's office surprising her, she immediately jumped up from her desk.

"Ma'am?"

"Ah, just thought I should let you know that there has been an issue with a boarding and Dutchy and 2Dads have been injured."

Kate took a sharp breath in.

"Are they okay?"

Maxine nodded.

"Yeah, Dylan has a head wound and 2Dads may have a couple of broken ribs, they're steaming home as we speak."

Maxine could see she was worried, she walked over to Kate and put her hand on her shoulder.

"It's not serious Kate, Commander Riley didn't think it was bad enough to warrant a medivac..."

Kate scoffed and shook her head.

"More like he didn't want to look bad..."

Maxine gave Kate a disapproving look, Kate knew that it was an inappropriate comment but she knew it was true, she looked at her feet.

"Sorry Ma'am..."

Maxine squeezed Kate's shoulder.

"They'll be back in port in an hour or so..."

Kate nodded and Maxine left her office.

Kate repositioned herself back at her desk and tried to re focus her mind on work. She shook her head trying to concentrate, she knew she wasn't going to be able to focus until she knew they were okay. She made her way to Maxine's office and poked her head in.

"Ma'am, I'm gonna take an early lunch if that's okay..."

Maxine could tell that Kate was worried about her former crew mates.

"Kate, they'll be fine."

Kate knew there was no point trying to pretend that she was okay.

"I know Ma'am, but I'm not going to be able to concentrate till I see that they're okay."

Maxine understood, she gave Kate a nod and she left.

Kate wasn't really going to lunch, she just needed to get out of the office. She made her way down to the docks and paced up and down for nearly 30 minutes. She eventually sat down, trying to figure out how they had been injured, she was sure it would have something to do with the CO's inability to trust the crew.

15 minutes later she saw the Hammersley approach, she stood up and brushed off her uniform. The boat docked and she watched as the crew carried a stretcher up to the deck, 2Dads followed cradling his ribs. Kate rushed to the gangway to check on Dutchy, he saw her and tried to sit up, she pushed him back down.

"Dylan, you've got a head wound, lay down!"

She held her hand on his chest making sure he stayed down, he tried to sit up again.

"Kate, I'm fine!"

2Dads walked down the gangway pretending to be more injured than he was.

"Don't worry about me Ma'am, I'm fine!"

Kate rushed to his side.

"Sorry 2Dads, are you okay?"

He had a pained look on his face but then stood up straight, Kate rolled her eyes realising he was tricking her. He laughed forgetting about his ribs, he grasped them in pain.

"That'll teach you, but are you okay?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, I'd be better if the big guy didn't take me down with him!"

They loaded Dutchy into the ambulance, 2Dads hopped in next to him. She tapped Swain on the shoulder.

"It's okay Swain, I'll go with them! You go home and see your girls..."

He smiled and gave her a hug.

"Thanks Ma'am, it's good to see you too."

Kate got in and they shut the doors.

"What the hell happened out there?"

Dutchy tried to sit up, Kate pushed him back down and gave him a stern look.

"Bloody Shane, the new XO, I get that I'm supposed to have his back but he doesn't have mine..."

Kate dropped her head, she felt guilty for leaving them with incompetent leaders. Dutchy put his hand to his head, it was pounding.

"Dutchy, just relax..."

They arrived at the hospital and nurses wheeled Dutchy and 2Dads inside.

Dutchy grabbed his phone from his pocket and passed it to Kate.

"Can you call Sarah from me? Let her know that I'm here, but I'm okay."

She nodded and took his phone, the wheeled them in to rooms to be checked over.

Kate took a deep breath and dialled Sarah's number, she cringed as she answered, she had hoped it would go to voice mail.

"Hey baby!"

"Oh, Umm Sarah, it's Kate..."

"Kate? Why have you got Dylan's phone?"

"Ah, look he's okay, he was injured on a boarding, we're at the Barry General, he's got a head wound and most likely concussion."

"I'm on my way..."

Kate hung up the phone and sat and waited in the hallway. A short time later 2Dads came out of one of the rooms.

"I'm alive!"

He sat next to Kate, he could see she was anxious.

"Hey, we're fine, why the long face?"

He bumped her with his shoulder, she sighed.

"I shouldn't have left you guys!"

2Dads let out a laugh.

"Kate, this isn't your fault!"

The doctor came out of Dutchy's room, they both stood up.

"He's just got a concussion, we'll keep him in overnight just as a precaution, you can see him if you like."

Kate nodded and smiled.

"Thanks Doctor."

2Dads sat back down.

"I'll wait out here for a bit..."

Kate cautiously entered the room.

"Dutchy?"

He turned towards her and smiled.

"Hey!"

He saw the ashamed look on her face, he tilted his head.

"What's the matter?"

Kate sat down next to his bed and sighed.

"I'm sorry Dutchy..."

Dutchy scoffed.

"Why are you sorry?"

Kate blinked a few times trying to stop the tears.

"I shouldn't have left you guys, I knew that Riley wasn't going to be good for Hammersley and I just left. I shouldn't have abandoned my family."

Dutchy reached out and held Kate's hand.

"McGregor, you are ridiculous!"

Kate looked up at him and smiled. Their moment was interrupted by Sarah running into the room, Kate snatched her hand away, but not before Sarah saw the guilty look on Kate's face.

"Oh my god, Dylan! You scared me!"

She hugged him and gave him a kiss. Kate attempted to leave, she felt like the 3rd wheel. Dutchy called out after her.

"Hey, where are you going?"

She turned at the door.

"We'll catch up later..."

As she exited the room she heard Sarah question Dutchy.

"Why did it take so long for her to call?"

She stopped for a moment to hear his response, she smiled as he heard him defend her.

"I didn't give her my phone till we got to the hospital, it wasn't her fault..."

The next morning Kate knocked on Dutchy's hospital room door.

"You ready to go?"

Dutchy was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Most definitely! Thanks for picking me up! Sarah couldn't take another day off."

Kate smiled.

"Of course! No problem!"

He got off the bed and looked at her sheepishly.

"I have another favour to ask..."

Kate picked up his bag and raised an eyebrow.

"Take me to get some real food? We can go to Sarah's work..."

Kate rolled her eyes.

"It's always about food with you!"

Dutchy put his arm around her.

"You get me!"

Kate and Dutchy walked into the cafe where Sarah worked. She ran up to Dutchy and hugged him, she saw that Kate was with him and the smiled dropped off her face.

"Oh Kate, uh hi!"

Kate smiled politely.

"Hi Sarah, umm he was craving a chicken schnitzel."

She showed them to a table and continued working, Kate looked at a menu and glanced over at Dutchy.

"So, I suppose that we'll need to cancel Friday then?"

Dutchy shook his head and laughed.

"You're not getting out of it that easy. I actually got confirmation from your date this morning."

Kate hid her face behind the menu, Dutchy snatched it away from her and smacked her on the arm with it.

"No backing out! I will come over to your house and drag you out if I have to!"

Sarah watched their interaction from the bar, Dutchy noticed her staring and smiled and waved not realising that she was checking up on them. Kate glanced over to her, she knew why she was watching them. She turned her attention back to Dutchy.

"So what does this guy do? What does he look like?"

Dutchy shook his head.

"I'm not giving away anything, you'll just have to wait and see..."

Friday night came too fast for Kate's liking, she was nervous. She had been shopping the night before for a new dress, all the old ones reminded of her past dates and failed relationships. She wanted a fresh start and that meant a fresh wardrobe. She stood in front of her mirror and finished her make-up, she stepped back and looked at herself.

"You can do this Kate."

There was a knock on the door, her heart started to beat a little faster. She took one last look and walked down stairs to answer it. She was a little relieved when she saw it was Dutchy with Sarah.

"Hey guys! Come in!"

Dutchy walked in and gave Kate a hug, Sarah walked in and looked around the house, Kate immediately felt judged. She could feel Sarah look her up and down.

"Nice to see you again..."

Sarah put on an obviously fake smile.

"Likewise..."

"Ah, have a seat, do you want a drink while we wait for umm Dutchy, what's his name again?"

Dutchy laughed and pushed her slightly, Sarah watched their interaction like a hawk.

"It's Ben! C'mon Kate, first rule of dating, remember his name!"

Kate came back into the room and handed them a drink, they sat on the couch and there was a bit of an awkward pause. Dutchy glanced at Kate indicating for her to start a conversation with Sarah, she cleared her throat.

"So Sarah, do you like what you do?"

She took a sip of her drink.

"What? Being a waitress..."

Kate smiled and nodded, she could tell she wasn't interested in engaging in conversation but Dutchy was her friend so she wanted to make an effort.

Sarah shrugged and continued to look around Kate's house

"Yeah, it's fine."

There was an awkward silence, Kate had nothing. A few seconds later she thought of another question.

"So is that your full time job? Are you studying or anything?"

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it is... what? Isn't that good enough?"

She glared at Kate insinuating that she was judging her. Kate didn't know why she was so defensive, she sipped her drink and looked at Dutchy over her glass for help. He didn't really know why she was acting like this, he put his hand on Sarah's knee.

"That's not what she means babe..."

Dutchy's phone beeped breaking the awkward silence, he pulled it out from his pocket. Kate watched him as his eyes scanned the message and a troubled look came over his face. She was secretly hoping he had been crash sailed so she wouldn't have to go through with this. He put his phone back in his pocket and pick up his drink.

"Ah, so Ben can't make it..."

Kate laughed, her reaction confused Dutchy and Sarah. She saw their reaction to her reaction.

"Oh, it's typical that's all! My first date in, I don't know how long, I buy a new dress and..."

She stopped herself, she was ranting.

"Look, don't mind me and my cynical mind! You guys go have a good time, I'll have a night in..."

Dutchy felt terrible, he knew it took a lot for her to agree to this.

"No, come out with us! You can't waste that dress on your living room! It needs to be seen!"

Kate glanced towards Sarah, she didn't seem impressed about his comment, she shook her head.

"No, it's okay, go have a good time!"

Sarah stood up and pulled Dutchy to his feet.

"Okay, well have a good night!"

Kate stood up trying to keep a smile on her face. Dutchy gave her a hug and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry!"

She put her hand on his arm, Kate glanced at her for a moment seeing Sarah's eyes bulge.

"It's not your fault!"

Sarah tugged on Dutchy's hand.

"We don't want to be late Dylan!"

He waived as Sarah pulled him out the door, she shut the door and laughed to herself.

"Oh, she's going to give you a run for your money big fella!"

She walked up the stairs to the bathroom and took off her make-up, she rolled her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror.

"What a waste of time!"

At dinner Dutchy played with his food feeling bad about leaving Kate by herself, Sarah tapped his hand with her fork.

"Not hungry?"

He shook his head and put his fork down.

"I feel so bad for Kate!"

Sarah continued to eat and looked down at her plate.

"Don't worry about it Dylan, she's a grownup..."

He picked up his fork again and sighed.

"Yeah, but she needs to get back out on the dating scene. Her last relationship was really complicated, on and off for years..."

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"And what has that got to do with us?"

He looked at her strangely.

"Huh?!"

She reached out and put her hand on his.

"Well, I'm more interested in you and not her! So tell me about more about the Navy, is it exciting?"

Dutchy smiled thinking about his adventures with the crew.

"Yeah, I love it! So Kate and I are in charge, well we were in charge of the boarding party, before she left. We would go and search the vessels and get right in the action. Kate may look like all sweet innocent but on boarding's, she's tough and doesn't take any crap. She's the one and only woman I know who genuinely scares the crap out of the biggest and toughest Navy guys!"

Sarah rolled her eyes and slammed her fork down.

"You're talking about her again! I get it she's Wonder Woman!"

Dutchy smirked.

"Sorry, we work together and we're best mates, most of my stories involve her, there's no need to be jealous. You wouldn't be jealous if she was a guy..."

She ignored Dutchy's last comment, she picked up her fork and continued to eat.

"Doesn't working together and hanging out together get a bit much?"

Dutchy shook his head.

"Nah... surprisingly!"

The next morning Kate was making breakfast when she received a message from Dutchy.

"Sorry about last night, Ben says he's sorry too, he's said he's not ready to date..."

Kate sighed, she was rejected by someone she hadn't even met yet.

"That's ok... movie night tonight?"

"Sorry, hanging with Sarah..."

"So you really like her then?"

"Yeah, I think so..."

"Think?"

"Shut up! Come join us..."

"Nah, I don't think she likes me very much?!"

"Sure she does! I talk about you all the time! She knows we're good mates! Plus don't you gals like your guys to have girl friends? It means we're not complete morons right?"

"Maybe...all good catch up with you another night."

Later that week Kate and Dutchy had arranged to catch up for lunch as he spent most nights with Sarah and she didn't want to intrude. He knocked on her office door, she called out for him to come in. She got up from her desk as he walked in.

"Fancy!"

Kate laughed.

"Yeah right, it's a box. Well, actually it's bigger than my cabin so it shouldn't be complaining,"

He was hiding something behind his back, she tried to peer around his side, he moved blocking her line of sight. She raised an eyebrow and gave him her best "don't test me" face.

"Dutchy, if that's anything but chocolate..."

He laughed at her impatience, he handed her a box wrapped in a bright pink bow.

"I know pink is secretly your favourite colour!"

She looked at the box suspiciously, Dutchy rolled his eyes.

'Relax Kate, it's a present..."

She looked at him sceptically, hoping it wasn't one of his pranks.

"What is it?"

He exhaled loudly, she was so frustrating.

"A pony Kate, can't you tell! Bloody hell, I'm trying to do something nice, just open it!"

She took the box from him and slowly undid the bow and opened the box, she pulled out beautiful glass photo frame and inside was a picture of the Hammersley crew.

"So you won't forget us..."

She gave him a hug.

"That's so sweet Dylan! But like I could forget you! Well actually, I had nearly forgotten what a smart ass you were. Where have you been? Feels like I haven't seen you in ages!"

Dutchy sat down at her desk, she placed the photo on the corner next to the phone.

"Yeah sorry, Sarah's just taking up a lot of my attention, I think she's a bit insecure about us being friends..."

Kate wanted to say I told you so, but she was trying to be supportive, Sarah seemed to make him happy so that made her happy. She tried to make an excuse.

"Well, she doesn't know me that well I guess so understandable..."

"Okay well let's arrange some things so you can get to know her..."

Kate pretended to busy herself with the paperwork on her desk.

"Hmm I don't think we're exactly compatible Dutchy, look you do what you need to do. I might not see you every day that's all, I mean that's fine... if I had boyfriend then I'd probably have a life too..."

Dutchy sighed, he was disappointed that in gaining a girlfriend he was losing a friend, he wished he didn't have to chose.

"I guess, anyway Lunch?"

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Always thinking about where your next chicken schnitzel is coming from!"

They were about to walk out of her office when Dutchy's phone rang, it was Sarah.

"Hey babe, what's up I'm just about to go to lunch with Kate...okay just calm down, I can't understand what you're saying, yeah okay...just...okay..."

He hung up the phone completely confused about what was going on. Kate knew that the good guy in him would be torn, he'd want to go and help his girlfriend but also stay and have lunch with his friend who he hadn't seen in weeks. She made it easier on him and made the decision for him.

"Go Dutchy..."

He looked at Kate apprehensively.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded her head and smiled trying to convince him.

"We'll catch up next week, when you're back..."

"But that's what we said like 3 weeks ago..."

Kate knew that she probably wouldn't see him next week or the week after but she was trying to be a good friend.

"Go! Your girlfriend needs you!"

She gave him a shove out the door, he poked his head back in.

"You're the best!"

She smiled.

"And don't you forget it!"

10 months later.

Kate sat on her couch by herself on yet another Friday night, it had been a month since she had seen Dutchy and the last time they caught up he was crashed sailed so they hasn't really 'caught up'. She picked up her phone and scrolled through the numbers in her phone. She selected Dutchy's name and started to type a message.

"Hey! Long time no see! You home? Might pop in..."

"Yeah, come by. Sarah's over..."

"I don't want to interrupt anything!"

"Don't be stupid! See you soon!"

Kate got off the couch and went and had a shower and made herself look presentable. She didn't know what it was about Sarah that made her have her defences up but she felt that she needed up the ante around her.

An hour or so later she walked up Dutchy's front path, she was about to reach out and open the front door when it flung open. She jumped back as Sarah stormed out the house, she stopped as she saw Kate and rolled her eyes. Kate could see she was upset.

"Sarah, is everything okay?"

She shook her head and left. Kate cautiously entered Dutchy's house.

"Dutchy?"

He was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, he jumped as he heard her voice.

"Kate! Ah, hi!"

Kate sat down next to him with a concerned look on her face.

"Sarah didn't look to happy!"

He broke eye contact and got up and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

"Yeah, I think we just broke up..."

Kate got up and walked over to him, she could tell he was hurt.

"I'm sorry Dutchy, I thought everything was good with you guys."

He shrugged and tried to act like it wasn't such a big deal.

"It's my fault...I couldn't say it."

Kate put a hand on his back.

"Say what?"

Dutchy looked at her with a devastated look on his face.

"The three words that every girl should hear..."

Kate didn't know what to say, all she could think of was that in the 5 years that her and Mike were on and off he had never said it.

"Oh, you've been going out for nearly a year, I just assumed.

Dutchy exhaled loudly.

"A year tomorrow..."

They sat back on the couch, she hadn't seen him this affected by a girl before.

"So do you love her?"

He shrugged again.

"I dunno..."

She tried to make him feel better, even though they had drifted apart she still cared for him deeply and didn't want to see him in pain.

"Well, if you don't know it's probably a no, and it's best for both of you if you admit that now."

Dutchy shrugged again, Kate internally rolled her eyes, he wasn't good about talking about his feelings and today was obviously not an exception. He wanted to change the subject completely.

"So umm, it's Friday night why aren't you at work?"

Kate laughed, she missed his smart ass remarks.

"Ah, Maxine made me take leave! Apparently not having a holiday for 3 years is not healthy."

Dutchy scoffed and took a gulp of his beer.

"I don't blame you, real life sucks..."

Kate moved closer and put her arm on his knee.

"I'm sorry Dutchy, I know that you really liked her..."

Dutchy put down his beer and ran his hands through his hair.

"Yeah, you know this was the longest relationship I've ever had? Pathetic huh?"

Kate shook her head and tried to lighten the mood.

"Hey! I think I win the most pathetic relationship competition thanks!"

He looked in her direction, he stared at her for a moment, Kate didn't know what he was staring at.

"Dutchy?"

His eyes lit up and his grinned a mischievous smile.

"You said you were on leave? Right now? For How long?"

Kate cautiously nodded.

"Ah, yeah 8 days, why?"

He smiled like the Cheshire cat.

"Well it just so happens that I have a holiday booked..."

Kate cringed a little.

"Isn't that a bit weird, I mean I'm sure you had planned a couple's holiday..."

Dutchy's face looked like a child who was pleading for ice cream.

"It's just to Port Douglas, nothing fancy! C'mon, you said it yourself we haven't seen each other for ages! Plus I'm gonna lose my money!"

Dutchy put on his best puppy face, Kate sat there and thought about it, she thought if anything she could keep him from drinking himself silly.

"Okay! A holiday with my BFF might do me some good!"

Dutchy leapt up, his mood had totally switched, Kate wasn't sure if it was a cover.

"Great! We leave tomorrow!"

Kate groaned.

"Tomorrow! A girl needs time to get organised for a beach holiday!"

Dutchy laughed, he knew what she meant.

"Well you've got this afternoon! You better go make some appointments!"

Kate playfully hit him on the arm.

"You're not supposed to know about that stuff!

She picked up her bag and headed for the door, he called out after her.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at 9, and bring fun Kate!"

End of Chapter 2. Xx

Please let me know what you think :)


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone!

Yes, another chapter after only 2 days! Hubby is back on night duty so plenty of time to write undisturbed lol.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback, please keep reviewing! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story, I'm having a lot of fun writing it.:)

Okay, enough from me...

20 Questions

Chapter 3

The next day they were about halfway to Port Douglas when Kate's phone rang, she rummaged around in her bag and fished it out. The call was from a number that she didn't know, she stared at the screen for a moment and was about to answer it when Dutchy snatched it from her hand. She shot him an annoyed look, he smiled a defiant smile and held it in his right hand away from her reach.

"Uh uh, no work calls!"

Kate tried to reach over him and take the phone back, he held his left arm up to block her while steering with his knees. She tried struggled against his arm to reach it but he was too strong.

"Dutchy, it's not work!"

He laughed as he slapped her hands away.

"Well it's not important then!"

It stopped ringing for a moment and then started again, he looked at it and saw that it was Navcom. Kate tired to reach it again but he held it outside the car window, she froze.

"You wouldn't dare!"

He pretended to drop it and moved his arm below the window so she couldn't see his hand. He looked at her side ways with a nervous look on his face.

"Uh oh!"

Kate eyes bludged out of her head.

"Dutchy!"

He laughed at her reaction and brought his hand up to where she could see it, he still had the phone in his hand. She sighed with relief and gave him one of her famous "not impressed" looks.

"Just give me my phone!"

She lunged at him again, Dutchy purposely slammed on the breaks and shook his head.

"We're not going to make it there in one piece if you keep attacking me!

She stopped and gave him her best puppy look, batting her eyelashes with a quivering lip, he scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"That's not going to work on me McGregor!"

He put his left arm back on the wheel semi blocking her from reaching over him, she pretended to not care and sat back in her chair. A few seconds later she dove for her phone, the car swerved slightly from her weight landing on Dutchy's steering arm. He removed his arm from the wheel and she dropped onto his lap still trying to reach her phone, he held it out the window again and laughed.

"You know this is quite a compromising position you're in Ms McGregor!"

She realised she was lying in his lap and immediately sat straight up in her chair with a mortified look on her face, he bought the phone back inside the car.

"You're on holidays, we're only away for a week! You won't miss anything and you need to relax! Maxine made you take this holiday, remember!"

He handed it back to her but snatched it away.

"Only it you switch it off!"

He placed it in Kate's hand, she took a deep breath in and turned her phone off. Dutchy smiled satisfied that he had won.

"You're lucky, I would have dropped it!"

Kate hit him on the arm.

"Hey! Stop distracting the driver, unless you're gonna lie back down on my lap!"

She hit him again, he laughed and looked in her direction.

"Admit it, you've missed me!"

Kate sat there with her arms crossed over her chest trying her hardest not to smile, she did miss him, more than she was willing to admit.

They pulled up to the back of the beach house and got out the car. Kate stood there in astonishment and admired the building, it was huge, a 5 star beach house, more than enough room for 2 people.

"Where'd you find this?"

Dutchy grabbed the bags out the car make like it wasn't such a big deal.

"Air B n B..."

He got the keys from the hiding place and opened the door. They walked in and gasped, it was a beautiful, brand new open plan beach house. They walked through the house to the front, on the deck was a spa and the stairs lead directly on to the beach. Kate whacked him on the arm.

"No big deal huh? This place is amazing! I feel kind of bad for Sarah..."

Dutchy shrugged not wanting to think of her, he dropped is bag down.

"Okay, the rules, no phone, no work talk, no ex talk, which includes you! And lots of relaxing, with alcohol!"

Kate smiled agreeing and hi-fived him.

"Deal!"

It didn't take long for them to get into relaxation mode, they unpacked and lay on the sun beds on the deck. Kate propped herself up with a pillow and opened her book, Dutchy put his hands behind his head supporting his neck and sighed with content.

5 minutes later Kate noticed Dutchy fidgeting and looking over at her, she put down her book and turned her head towards him.

"What?"

He sat up slightly.

"This feels weird right?"

Kate slid her sunnies down the bridge of her nose and looked over them at him.

"Weird?"

He shrugged.

"Doing nothing!"

Kate laughed and repositioned her sunglasses, she turned back to her book.

"You're the one who said I needed to relax!"

Dutchy stood up and stretched.

"Do you wanna go for a walk or something?"

Kate nodded and put down her book.

"Yeah, I suppose it's too early for a drink?"

Dutchy laughed, she looked at him innocently.

"It's the only way I can get my work brain to switch off!"

They walked down the stairs and on to the sand and headed towards the water, they walked along the water's edge taking in the serenity. Dutchy picked up some sea weed and flung it at Kate, she squealed and brushed her shoulders and arms in a panic.

"What was that?!"

Dutchy laughed out loud and pointed to the seaweed on the ground. Kate looked embarrassed when she saw that it was just seaweed.

"I *hate* seaweed!"

His laughter died down.

"Noted for later!"

He winked at her.

"Ok, to try and distract you why don't we play 20 questions while we walk..."

Kate tried not to look nervous, Dutchy was her best friend but she was an incredibly private person. He already knew a lot more about her than anyone else in her life but she wasn't sure on much more detail she really wanted to give. Dutchy could see her apprehension and laughed.

"It's just a game Kate, I'll go first... hmmm how old where you when you had your first kiss?"

Kate looked at him uncomfortably.

"Are they all going to be this personal?"

Dutchy gave her a "really?!" look.

"Hey, I thought we were BFF, I should know these types of things about you right?"

Kate let out a frustrated huff, she needed to stop being so guarded, maybe this was why she didn't have any really close girlfriends.

"Dan Fitzgerald, he was my first boyfriend when I was 14."

"Aww, did you date for long?"

Kate nodded and smiled thinking about her childhood sweetheart.

"Yeah, all through high school, we went to the formal together. He was so sweet but we broke up when I went to ADFA and he went to Uni in Adelaide."

Dutchy could see the regret in her expression.

"So, was he the one that got away?"

Kate snapped back to reality and shrugged.

"Maybe, but we were both set on what we wanted to do, I wasn't going to stop him doing what he wanted..."

Kate closed her eyes, it all felt too familiar to her situation with Mike, she loved these people but let them go because she didn't want to be responsible to their unhappiness. Dutchy could feel the mood drop, he didn't mean for the conversation to turn this way, he quickly thought of another question that was less serious.

"Okay, let's forget I asked, ahh, are you a cat or dog person?"

Kate paused still thinking about the previous question, Dutchy didn't want her to get upset again.

"Hey, don't make my throw more seaweed at you!"

She smiled half-heartedly kicked some water in his direction.

"Dog, definitely dog! I'd want my kids to grow up with a dog, a Golden Retriever..."

Dutchy smiled at the picture that was forming in his head.

"So, kids plural? You want more than one?"

Kate waded in the water as she walked along, she felt surprisingly at ease talking about these things with Dutchy. These topics were always so taboo with Mike or even with herself, she never wanted to think to hard about them in case they never happened.

"Yeah, one of each would be nice, but hey at this point a partner would be nice."

Dutchy nodded along.

"What would you do if you weren't in the Navy?"

This one really made Kate think, she had no idea, she chuckled to herself.

"I'd have a life..."

Dutchy rolled his eyes.

"Nah, I don't think so! You're an all in type of person..."

Kate sighed.

"Umm, I've got no idea, maybe a cop, I already know how to fire a gun?"

Dutchy splashed water in her direction.

"Yeah, anything to be in charge right?"

She laughed and splashed him back.

"You think you've got me figured out don't you?"

He shrugged coyly and continued with the game.

"Favourite flower?"

Kate looked at him strangely.

"That's random... umm peony..."

Dutchy laughed.

"I don't even know what that is! Okay, umm, favourite food? Actually don't answer that I know what it is..."

She raised an eyebrow challenging his answer.

"Chocolate, duh! Milk, not dark right?!"

She didn't deny his answer, it annoyed her that he was right.

"Do you regret your shore posting?"

Kate stopped dead in her tracks, she didn't expect that one. Dutchy noticed and also stopped walking.

"Oh, umm no, I mean I did it mainly to have a life..."

She continued to walk, he waited for her to catch up with him, they walked side by side.

"And how is life?"

Kate looked down at the water.

"Hmm, good, but no real change, I'm still hanging with you aren't I?"

Dutchy looked mildly offended.

"Hey, you could do worse!"

Kate smiled.

"You know what I mean!"

They continued to walk in the water.

"What attributes does your partner have to have?"

Kate laughed and his choice of words.

"Attributes? Is that supposed to be code for something?"

She raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a grin on her face. Dutchy took a second to realise that she was being dirty, he had a shocked look on his face.

"Kate McGregor, what has gotten into you?"

She laughed.

"You're rubbing off on me! Hmm, at this point in time I can't afford to be fussy!"

"C'mon, you have to have a type!"

Kate thought for a minute and then thought of Mike and let out a frustrated huff.

"Yeah, my type is emotionally unavailable or just plain stubborn!"

Dutchy kicked water in her direction.

"Hey! Remember the rules!"

"Okay, okay seriously then, he has to make me laugh everyday and I dunno understand my stubbornness and insecurities. He needs to make me feel safe without being over the top protective."

Dutchy smiled.

"Anything else?"

"Oh, he has to be taller than me!"

He let out a chuckle.

"Well that's not hard!"

She hit him playfully.

"C'mon let me have a turn! Have you ever been in love?"

Dutchy scoffed and nudged her with his shoulder.

"And you thought my questions were too personal..."

Kate raised an eyebrow, Dutchy sighed.

"I dunno."

"C'mon, no high school girlfriend? No, one that got away story?"

Dutchy shook his head.

"Nah, I was a dickhead then, thought I was too cool!"

Kate laughed and nodded.

"And not much has changed..."

It was Dutchy's turn to hit her on the arm.

"Hey!"

Kate put her hands on her hips and turned to face him.

"What about all the convertibles and girls?"

Dutchy knew that was coming, he prepared himself as she was going to make him talk about his feelings.

"If it's gonna be like this I need another drink, its happy hour somewhere right?!"

They headed back to the house and sat on the deck. Dutchy poured them a drink, Kate sat there staring at him waiting for a response. He took a sip of his drink and felt her staring at him, he looked over to her.

"What?"

She threw her hands in the air.

"You gonna answer my question?"

Dutchy took a moment, he owed her the real Dutchy, she had been honest, he should be too.

"I guess I figured that if I had this persona then I couldn't get hurt. I mean if it wasn't the real me then the real mean couldn't get my heart broken. You're probably one of the very few people in my life that knows the real me..."

Kate took a sip of her drink and glanced at Dutchy over the glass, she didn't expect that kind of answer, a truthful, emotional one.

"Wow..."

Dutchy looked away embarrassed, Kate got up and sat next to him and put her hand on his arm.

"I knew there was a human in there somewhere..."

He put his drink down, he thought that Kate saw through that, but maybe not.

"Oh c'mon Kate, am I really that bad? Everyone has their demons, their secrets..."

Kate didn't want him to feel like he couldn't talk about his feelings. Why did guys think that having feelings was a bad thing? She gave him an reassuring smiled and attempted to get him to open up more.

"So how come you stayed with Sarah for so long if you didn't think you loved her?"

Dutchy gave her a look.

"Hey, you're breaking the rules again, no talking about exes."

She handed him his drink for a bit of liquid courage.

"C'mon, you already said more about her than any other girl..."

He downed the glass hoping it would make it easier for him to talk about it.

"I thought it might take some time or maybe I don't know what love is..."

He glanced over at her, he was going to make her break the rules too.

"How long did it take for you to fall in love with Mike?"

It was her turn for liquid courage, she took a big sip of her drink and a deep breath in. She was about to start when she stopped herself and frowned.

"Wait, if you don't know what love is, how do you know that I loved him?"

Dutchy smirked, now she was avoiding the tough questions.

"Hey, no answering my question with a question!"

Kate sighed not really wanting to re live it but maybe it would help talking about it.

"Umm, I kinda felt it was instant. I mean love grows but we had an immediate connection and a passion for the Navy helped. But he is probably a terrible example cos it turns out I didn't know him as well as I thought because in the end our futures didn't line up..."

Dutchy laughed half-heartedly trying to lighten the mood. Kate swallowed the rest of her drink.

"Hey speaking of the future what do you want in yours? I remember that night when I found you on the balcony and you looked like you were doing some major thinking..."

Dutchy sat there attempting to peel the label off his bottle, he had never had a conversation about these things with anyone. It was making him feel a bit un easy but maybe it was because no one in his life ever cared enough to ask him.

"I dunno, I do want a family some day but apparently I'm no good at picking them either. I mean Sarah was a good one but we didn't mesh some how, I saw the connection you and Mike had, we didn't have that!"

Kate rubbed his shoulder.

"The worst thing you can do is compare Dutchy, things are never the same, never that black and white..."

Dutchy didn't respond, Kate didn't really want to continue with the topic either.

"Okay enough ex talk then...favourite food?"

Dutchy looked at her with a sad expression.

"Oh Kate McGregor, that hurts! I knew yours!"

She thought for a second and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Chicken Schnitty..."

He clinked his bottle with her glass.

"Oh, there is its!"

They both took a sip of their drinks.

"Dream holiday?"

Dutchy lay back on the day bed.

"Oh that's a good one... Iceland in that glass bubble thing watching the northern lights..."

Kate's face lit up and hit him on the arm.

"No way! That's mine!"

They both sat there in silence for a moment. Kate laughed to herself.

"Dutchy, do you think we're the problem?!"

Dutchy scoffed.

"Nah, were awesome!"

Kate lent back on the day bed positioning her body against his.

"Okay, enough for now...so, what do you wanna do tomorrow?"

Dutchy topped up her drink.

"You really don't know how to relax do you? Umm reef cruise? Snorkelling?"

Kate's eyes lit up.

"Yeah sounds good!"

Dutchy smirked and lay back down.

"Good, cos it's already booked! I don't need 20 questions to know you Kate!"

Kate sat up and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Am I really that predictable?"

Dutchy got up and went to the kitchen, Kate sat there wondering what his respond was. He came back outside with a platter of cheese and biscuits.

"No, you're not predictable, I just know you! Nothing wrong with that..."

He placed the platter on the table and winked at her.

"Like when you drink you like to snack..."

Kate took a piece of cheese off the platter, she popped it into her mouth and shuffled back onto the bed.

"Did you know these things about Sarah?"

He shook his head and sat back next to her, he handed her another piece of cheese.

"Kate, I've known you a lot longer!"

She positioned herself against him, they were holding each other up. She turned to towards him slightly.

"So you're not gonna try and work things out?"

"Ah no, I don't think so..."

Kate felt bad for him, this was the longest relationship she'd seen him have and he was happy when he was with her. It was so unlike him to give up so easily.

"Why not?"

He sighed and turned towards her.

"I broke the no phone rule and checked mine, there was a message from her asking where I was. She knew I was away cos she had been back to my house a few times and noticed my car wasn't there. So I messaged her back and told her the truth, that I'm on holiday with you..."

"And I'm assuming she didn't like it?"

He started to pay with the toggle on his board shorts avoiding her concerned look.

"If she can't handle me having a friend that's a girl then she can't be my girlfriend. Plus I know I fell off the radar and I hate that..."

Kate sighed, she couldn't help but feel a little responsible. Maybe if she had tried harder to get to know her things may have been different. She tried to make him feel a little better about the situation.

"It's okay, it was a new relationship, I get it..."

"Yeah, but that shouldn't have to happen should it? I mean, I should be dating someone who likes you, who wants to get to know my friends. You're a nice person and if they don't like you then I probably shouldn't like them..."

Kate laughed slightly, she thought it was lovely that he thought that way and that meant that she was an important part of his life but it shouldn't be the be all and end all.

She rested her head on his shoulder, he was a nice guy and she didn't understand why it was so hard for him to find someone but she knew that he attracted a type and that type wasn't what he needed. He needed someone who saw through all the muscles and tough Navy exterior and loved the caring and gentle side of him.

"You'll find someone Dutchy..."

He rested his head on hers.

"I hope so..."

The next morning Dutchy and Kate excitedly boarded the boat for the reef cruise. The captain came out of the cabin to welcome them.

"Hey folks, I'm Johnny, you're skipper. So, it's your lucky day, you've got your own personal tour boat for the day, the other couple had to cancel."

Kate was quick to correct him about their relationship status.

"Oh, we're not together..."

He tilted his head a little, sensing that it wasn't the case.

"Right, okay then, well let's get the day started!"

It was a perfect sunny day, the water was flat and crystal clear. The boat cruised out to the reef and anchored. Kate stood out on deck and stripped off revealing her pink bikini. Dutchy glanced over at her trying not to be too obvious, he looked her up and down. Kate looked in his direction and noticed his lingering eyes, she cleared her throat loudly. Dutchy laughed and blushed.

"Sorry, actually I'm not, Kate you might find a man faster if you didn't hide that!"

He looked her up and down again, she clicked her fingers in his face.

"Eyes above shoulders please!"

Dutchy gave her a salute and looked away, Johnny tapped him on the shoulder and whispered.

"Busted! Just friends hey?"

Dutchy rolled his eyes ignoring his comment, he stood up and took off his top.

"You ready?"

Johnny brought over their equipment and placed it in front of them. They sat on the edge of the boat and put on their flippers on. Johnny reached down and grabbed a snorkel to demonstrate.

"Now, have you guys done this before?"

They looked at each other and laughed. Dutchy took the snorkel from him and put it on his face.

"We're in the Navy mate..."

Kate put on her snorkel and nodded, they both dropped backwards into the water leaving Johnny standing there.

"Right, well I guess you don't need me then, not even to drive the boat..."

Later that day they sat on the bow of the boat enjoying the sun, Kate scooted closer to Dutchy and smiled.

"Thanks for this!"

She rested her head on his shoulder and looked out over the water.

"Why can't life be like this all the time?"

Dutchy sat there contemplating her words, he knew she didn't mean them to be serious but it repeated in his head.

He closed his eyes for a moment taking in the sun, suddenly his mind stopped, everything was so clear. A flood of thoughts and emotions rushed through his brain. Why can't life be like this all the time? It could, not in the sense of being on holiday everyday but being with someone who makes you feel this way, feel content, feel like there's no one else in the world but the two of you. She had been right in front of him entire time, how did he not see it? How could she not see it? He fidgeted suddenly feeling awkward that she was touching him, she moved closer but felt his body stiffen, she sat up and looked at him oddly.

"What's the matter?"

Dutchy's eyes darted around not wanting to make eye contact with her in case she saw the panic in his eyes. He had to come up with an excuse and fast.

"Oh, umm nothing, just got a cramp!"

She sat up and repositioned herself.

"You should have told me you were uncomfortable! Where's the cramp?

Kate rubbed his thigh and down his leg.

"That help?"

He leapt up and jumped back to the lower deck.

"Ah yeah, just gonna walk it off."

Kate lay back on her towel not thinking anything of it. Dutchy walked around the deck muttering to himself. Johnny walked up behind him and laughed to himself, Dutchy spun round fearing it was Kate, he was relieved to see it wasn't.

"What's so funny?"

Johnny smirked.

"You've just realised haven't you?"

Dutchy pretended to have no idea what he was talking about.

"Realised what?"

Johnny shook his head.

"If you can't say it to me loud Navy boy then you won't be able to say it to her, you've got no chance!"

He walked off in to the cabin, Dutchy walked back out on deck and watched Kate for a moment. He took a deep breath in and sat back next to her, she turned and smiled.

"Better?"

He shrugged.

"Ah, yeah kind of..."

Later that day the boat docked, Johnny put his hand out to help Kate on to the dock. Dutchy jumped off the boat, Johnny caught is arm and spun him around. He gave him a stern look and raised an eyebrow, Dutchy stared back at him for a moment, he squeezed Dutchy's arm then let go.

"Good luck!"

Kate stopped walking and turned, she caught a glimpse of their strange behaviour, she called out.

"You coming?"

Dutchy nodded and ran to catch up to her, she glanced back at the Captain waiving at them.

"What was that about?"

Dutchy turned and waved.

"Nothing..."

Later that night they sat on the couch watching a movie, Kate stretched out over him.

"Man, I could really go for a massage right now! Swimming uses muscles that I didn't know I had!"

She laughed at her own comment, she turned towards Dutchy, he was staring blankly at the TV.

"You want a drink?"

Dutchy didn't reply, she could see he was somewhere else. Kate waived a hand in front of his face.

"Earth to Dutchy? Do you want a drink?"

He snapped back to reality.

"Oh yeah, thanks..."

She got up and poured herself a wine and got him a beer out the fridge. She handed it to him and sipped on her wine. She glanced at him, she thought he was acting strangely.

"Everything okay?"

He nodded.

"Yeah just tired, like you said the swimming has taken it out of me, I might head to bed actually."

He put the beer back in the fridge, Kate watched as he walked to his room, she wondered if he was having second thoughts about Sarah.

"Sweet dreams!"

He smiled in her direction.

"Night."

Kate tiptoed into his room, she smiled and stood above him watching him sleep. He looked so sweet and peaceful, she leaned over him and whispered in his ear.

"Dylan! Wakey, wakey..."

He didn't move, she began to gently shake him.

"Dylan..."

He smiled in his sleep, he put his hand on Kate's and opened his eyes. He smiled, they were locked in each other's gaze. He suddenly pulled her into the bed surprising her and started to tickle her, she laughed hysterically and shrieked his name.

"Dylan! Stop! Please!"

She struggled to catch her breath while laughing, she squirmed beneath him, he continued trying to contain his laughter. He stopped so she could catch her breath, she lay beneath him looking up at him. He stared into her eyes and leaned down closer, he started to tickle her again. She tried to tickle him but it was no use, he wasn't ticklish.

"Stop!"

He pinned her hands and whispered in her ear.

"What's the magic password?"

He hovered above her smiling, she tried to remove herself from his grip but he was too strong. She nodded her head indicating him to lean in so she could tell him. He leaned down, he could feel her breath on his neck.

"I love you..."

He froze immediately and released her hands, she propped herself on her elbows. He blinked a few times trying to comprehend what she had said, a small smile came over his face.

"What did you say?"

She swallowed hard and took a breath in and smiled back at him.

"I love you Dylan..."

He smile turned into an ear to ear grin, he slowly leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met ever so slightly, he brushed the stray hairs away from her eyes and stared at her for a minute.

"I love you too Kate..."

Kate sat up in front of him, he was scared she was going to leave but instead she leapt forward into his arms and kissed him passionately. She cupped her hands around his face and kissed him again, she slowly removed his top admiring his chiselled chest. He ran his hands from her shoulders and down her body, he couldn't believe that this was happening, he couldn't believe that she felt the same way. He slid her dress over her head revealing her matching pink underwear, he had to laugh.

"I knew pink was your favourite colour..."

End Chapter 3. Xx


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone,

Another quick turn around!

Glad you're enjoying it! This is turning out to be one of my faves so far!

That's enough from me!

PS: You're all too clever!

From Chapter 3

"I love you Dylan..."

He smile turned into an ear to ear grin, he slowly leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met ever so slightly, he brushed the stray hairs away from her eyes and stared at her for a minute.

"I love you too Kate..."

Kate sat up in front of him, he was scared she was going to leave but instead she leapt forward into his arms and kissed him passionately. She cupped her hands around his face and kissed him again, she slowly removed his top admiring his chiselled chest. He ran his hands from her shoulders and down her body, he couldn't believe that this was happening, he couldn't believe that she felt the same way. He slid her dress over her head revealing her matching pink underwear, he had to laugh.

"I knew pink was your favourite colour..."

20 Questions

Chapter 4

Dutchy bolted up right in bed sweating and breathing heavily, it was a dream, a really real dream. He checked his phone for the time, it was only 11pm. He ran his hands through his hair trying to compose himself.

"Shit!"

He sat there for a minute and rubbed his hands over his face, _no Dylan, she is your friend. You don't even know if she feels the same way, of course she doesn't you idiot, don't make it weird, don't stuff it up._

He got out of bed and went to the kitchen, as he filled the glass with water he leaned against the bench trying to sort through his thoughts. He walked back to his bedroom and noticed the deck light on, he was about to switch it off but stopped as he saw Kate sitting on the steps. He watched as she got up and walked towards the beach, he was able to see her silhouette as the moon was full and high in the sky, it created a reflection off the water which lit up the beach.

Dutchy watched her for a moment before following her, he was curious to what she was doing but his protective instincts had also kicked in.

He walked out on to the deck and spotted her sitting on the beach looking out into the water. He approached slowly so he wouldn't scare her, she heard his footsteps and turned her head in his direction. She smiled as he sat down next to her.

"What are you doing up?"

He gazed out over the water, he couldn't look her directly in the eye after that dream.

"Could ask you the same thing, what happened to your early night?"

His mind screamed, _I_ _had a dream, a dream that I wished was real_ , get a grip Dutchy.

"Umm, couldn't sleep..."

They sat there in silence. Kate brought her knees up to her chest, Dutchy nudged her with his shoulder.

"C'mon, spill!"

Kate glanced at him out the corner of her eye and shrugged, he nudged her again.

"I think I've still got 8 questions left..."

She closed her eyes not wanting to say it out loud, she sighed.

"I'm thinking about Mike..."

Dutchy didn't know what to say so he stayed silent, Kate turned to see if he heard her.

"Dutchy?"

He looked down at the sand, afraid of what she was going to admit.

"Are you having second thoughts?"

She dug her feet into the sand.

"I dunno, I just keep thinking that maybe there was some way of working things out but then I don't want to make the wrong decision. I'm scared that I'm even considering it and it makes me wonder if I'm more afraid of not finding someone and not having a family or settling for someone that's not right for me because I want those things so badly."

He so desperately hoped that her second guessing was because of the second reason, he had to get confirmation.

"So are you saying you were settling with Mike?"

She wrapped her arms around her knees and shrugged.

"No, I mean if I went back I'd be scared that I'm settling. I loved him and some of the things that he did to prove his love were amazing. Did you know he threatened to quit if Fleet Command didn't reconsider his CO position..."

Dutchy was surprised and confused, he didn't know that. For a minute he thought Kate was crazy to reject him, it was a massive gesture and confirmation of how he felt.

"So giving up something that he loved for you made him Mr wrong?"

"No, that was amazing but he wasn't being rational, I couldn't let him do it! I wasn't going to be responsible for his unhappiness. We hadn't even discussed it, I feel like life changing decisions should be made together. Especially when..."

She trailed off, he could see tears start to form in her eyes. He didn't want her to be upset but he needed to know more, if he was to have any change he needed to know she was over him.

"When what?"

The tears spilled over on to her cheeks, she turned to face him no longer hiding her feelings.

"He never told me he loved me, he always implied it but never actually said the words."

Dutchy sat there wondering how that was possible. The look on her face killed him, he wanted to hold her and tell her that he would never hurt her like he did. She wiped her face, she was sick of her own tears.

"Who's the pathetic one now? I wasted my energy on a 4 year relationship when he couldn't say those words."

She was clearly hurt but it didn't mean she was over it, Dutchy pushed further.

"I mean you have a shore posting now, do you think it would work with Mike now?"

Kate shook her head.

"It's too late... my feelings aren't the same..."

Dutchy paused, they words he wanted to hear, he was worried the next question would be too obvious but it almost fell out of his mouth.

"So you'd never date anyone in the Navy?"

Kate smirked and looked over to him, he quickly looked away from her questioning glance.

"Well, I mean I wouldn't rule it out. At least they would know what I have to deal with, the stress that comes with our job, the hours, the notice for sea phone calls ..."

Dutchy felt awkward again, he said it himself, he didn't know what true love felt like. Did he like Kate because she was familiar, comfortable and it was easy as they were already friends? He kept second guessing himself, he couldn't bear the thought of starting something and it not working and hurting her.

He shuffled his feet in the sand trying to think of something to say, anything to break the silence.

Kate was confused by his reaction, she could see he was thinking but she had no idea what about. She laughed and patted him on the leg.

"Okay, I think this 20 questions game is over..."

He looked at her and smiled.

"Nope, I've got 3 left, but I'll save them for later, might come up with some juicer questions!"

He stood up and brushed himself off, he tried to push his thoughts to the back of his mind. He reached out for her hand.

"C'mon, let's go to bed..."

Kate giggled and raised her eyebrow, Dutchy rolled his eyes.

"You're so funny McGregor! You don't want to be tired tomorrow, we're going exploring!"

Dutchy pulled Kate to her feet and wrapped his arm around her as they walked back to the house. He was going to try his hardest to go back to the way they were, this was silly, he was just trying to get over Sarah. Kate looked up at him and smiled.

"No wonder people think we're a couple!"

The next day Dutchy parked at an entrance to the Daintree Rainforest.

Kate got out the car and looked around in awe.

"I've always wanted to come here!"

Dutchy swung a bag over his shoulders and locked the car.

"Yeah, I read about this awesome swimming spot, I've been dying to check it out."

After 45 minutes of walking they approached a clearing in the forest. They stood on top of a large boulder and admired the scenery, beneath them was a crystal clear body of water. They both smiled at each other and climbed down the rock. Dutchy put his bag down and got out some towels. Kate immediately stripped off and jumped in.

"Oh my god Dutchy, the water's perfect!"

Dutchy leapt up on to a rock and bombed into the water, it created a huge splash that crashed down on Kate.

"You're such a child!"

She playfully splashed him back.

"You don't wanna stat a war Kate!"

He laughed and splashed her again.

"Oh really?"

Dutchy dove under the water, Kate looked around for him. He surfaced underneath her and tossed her in the air. She screamed as she hit the water, she resurfaced and wiped her face and laughed.

"Okay you win! There's no way I could pick you up!"

"You want some lunch?"

Kate nodded eagerly. Dutchy got out of the water and dried himself off. Out of his bag he unpacked a picnic rug and some cheese, biscuits and cold meat. He set it up on a platter and proudly presented it to her. Kate got out and dried herself off, she wrapped the towel around her and sat down.

"Wow Dutchy, I feel like you're wasting all your good moves on me!"

"It's not a waste..."

They spent the afternoon swimming and taking in the beautiful scenery.

As they were walking back to the car Dutchy tapped Kate on the shoulder.

"Race ya!"

They began to run down the path, suddenly Kate tripped over a branch and fell, Dutchy stooped when he couldn't hear her footsteps behind him, he turned and saw her sitting on the ground clutching her ankle, he ran to her side.

"Kate! Are you okay?"

Kate winced as she rubbed her ankle.

"I rolled my ankle!"

Dutchy helped her up, she tried to walk on it but cried out in pain.

"Owww! Damn it!"

"C'mon put your arm around my shoulder."

Kate expected him to help support her weight but instead he scooped her up and carried her in his arms.

"Dutchy, this is totally unnecessary!"

"Do you wanna get the outta here by sunset?"

They drove back into town and to the local hospital.

"Dutchy we don't need the hospital, it's not broken!"

"Kate, I think you better get it checked out..."

"I'm not spending the afternoon in emergency. If it doesn't look better tomorrow I'll come back!"

Dutchy reluctantly drove back to the house and carried her inside and laid her on the couch.

"Thanks!"

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, they both froze for a moment realising that they hadn't ever had that kind of contact before. Dutchy tried to break the awkward moment.

"This reminds me of the time when I had to get you out of that swamp when we were looking for those cattle rustlers!"

They both laughed, he patted her on her shoulder.

"I'll get you some ice for your ankle and a cuppa."

Dutchy left for the kitchen, he returned a few minutes later with a cup of tea and a tea towel full of ice. He sat on the couch at Kate's feet and put a pillow on his lap. He placed Kate's foot on it and gently wrapped the tea towel around her ankle, she flinch a little from the pain.

"Sorry!"

Kate reached out for Dutchy's hand.

"No, I'm sorry, cos I'm a clumsy idiot I'm now couch ridden, I won't be able to do much more exploring. If you wanna go out and do things please don't let me stop you!"

He moved his hand away from her reach.

"It's fine Kate! We'll be forced to relax..."

Kate put on a smile, she was confused about the awkward moments that they had had over the past few days. She hoped it was just due to his break up and he was just being overly sensitive.

Later that evening they had drifted off to sleep in the couch. Kate awoke and needed to go to the bathroom, she attempted to get up but stumbled in the process.

"Damn it..."

Dutchy woke up hearing her voice, he sat up rubbing his eyes.

"Kate?"

"Sorry, I thought it would be a bit better after the ice..."

He stretched from the awkward position he had fallen asleep in.

"Where are you going anyway?"

"Ah, bathroom..."

Dutchy laughed and got up and helped her to the bathroom. He waited outside the door, she opened the door and saw him waiting for her.

"This is stupid, I feel like a child!"

"Hmm well maybe I should stay in your room tonight? We don't have a potable potty for you to use!"

Dutchy laughed at his quip, Kate wasn't impressed.

"I really don't think that's necessary..."

Kate tried to put weight on her foot and stumbled, Dutchy reached out to support her.

"Okay, maybe for tonight..."

They were getting ready for bed and Dutchy brought some couch cushions in from the lounge and put them in the floor. Kate was sitting on the bed watching him build his uncomfortable looking bed. She peered over the end of the bed.

"What an earth are you doing?"

He plumped up one of the pillows.

"Ah, making my bed?"

Kate shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous!"

She patted empty half of the bed.

"It's a king size bed, I'm not gonna make you sleep on the floor!"

Dutchy was hesitant, Kate got under the covers. He walked over to the bed and got in. She turned to face him, he was flat on his back staring at the ceiling.

"Night!"

"Good night!"

He reached over and turned off the light.

Early the next morning Dutchy began to stir, the sun had begun to rise and was shining through the cracks in the blind. He went to move but felt a weight on his chest. He looked down, Kate had her head on his pillow and arm wrapped around him. He smiled and tried not to wake her, he gently placed his arm near hers, his fingers touching it ever so slightly. He felt the hairs on her arm stand up, she began to stir. He stopped, _what are you doing Dylan!?_ He put his arm back beside him and pretended he was still asleep. He felt her move, she propped herself up and looked at him for a moment, she smiled and lowered herself back down and put her head on his shoulder and her arm over his chest. He pretended to wake up again.

"Morning..."

She immediately sat up and moved away realising that she might be making he feel uncomfortable.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you I was just trying to check the time..."

Dutchy smirked. He knew she was lying, _was that a sign?_ he indulged her and looked at the clock.

"It's still early, go back to sleep."

She lay back down on her side facing him, she kept her arms to herself but still close enough that he could feel her body heat. Dutchy couldn't resist, his body took over and dared to move closer. He still wasn't completely sure but he knew he felt something and it was different to anything he had felt before.

She had her eyes closed but knew she was close, she slowly opened her eyes, they reflected in his. She smiled, she felt his hand move towards her hip, her breathing intensified. She didn't know whether to stop him, she whispered his name.

"Dutchy..."

He moved his face closer seeing if she would pull away, she didn't.

"Tell me you don't feel this too..."

He leaned in and kissed her softly, she relaxed into it, a tingling sensation ran through her body. Memories of Mike came flooding in to her mind, they were friends, they tried to make it work and it ended in disaster. She immediately pulled away.

"Dutchy, we can't..."

He didn't understand, her body language told him that she wanted this. He was in too deep, he couldn't just let it go.

"Why not? We're not on the same ship and if we feel the same way..."

Kate moved away and propped herself up. She took a breath in and refused to make eye contact.

"I can't lose you..."

Dutchy sat up in front of her.

"What do you mean? I'm not going anywhere..."

She brought her eyes up to meet his.

"If this doesn't work, and let's face it Navy relationships are always a disaster. I couldn't bear not having you as a friend..."

"We will always be friends Kate..."

"But if it ends badly or..."

He interrupted, he didn't understand.

"Don't you trust me?"

Kate didn't want to use the old cliché, it's not you its met, but it was true.

"Dutchy, of course I do! I trust you more than anyone! That's why I can't do this!"

He grasped her hand in his.

"Kate, you feel this though right? I haven't made this up in my head, have I?

Kate sat there dead silent, she did feel it but admitting it was going to make it worse. She sighed, it was never going to be the same, she had just ruined the most important friendship she'd ever had.

"Dutchy, I think you're confused. Sarah just broke up with you and..."

He got up off the bed with an annoyed expression on his face.

"So you think I'm using you as a rebound?"

She sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at him.

"No, but you said it yourself that you didn't know it was supposed to feel, can we just pretend this didn't happen?"

Dutchy was frustrated, insulted even, he couldn't believe that she was throwing that back in his face. He understood her concerns but he wondered if that was her only issue, he wondered if she had lied and still had feelings for Mike. A thousand thoughts rushed though his head, he couldn't be in the same room with her, not right now. He put a shirt on and took a step towards the door, she grabbed his arm to stop him, she wanted to try and talk this through.

"Dutchy, please don't go..."

He stopped and looked back at her, she could see he was deeply hurt. She felt terrible, she knew how much it would have taken for him to admit his feelings, even if they were misplaced.

"Please don't be mad..."

He moved his arm out of her grasp and walked out of the room. Kate sat there for a moment, she wanted to cry, everything was different now. Why did she let him kiss her?

Kate heard the door slam, she punched the pillow out of frustration.

Dutchy walked on out the beach, he started to jog, then run.

Later that day Dutchy was still out, Kate had made her way out to the deck and positioned herself in the sun to read her book. She heard the front door open and poked her head around the chair.

Dutchy walked in with a pair of crutches, he walked out to the deck and handed them to her.

"Here, so you don't have to rely on me..."

Kate knew he was having a go and that he wasn't okay about 'pretending that it didn't happen'.

"Thanks..."

He sat down on the chair next to her, she sat up and looked at him apprehensively.

"Are we okay?"

He put on his sunglasses and lay back on the lounger.

"Yeah..."

Kate sat there for a moment and let out a sigh, he said he knew her, but she knew him just as well, she should have known how he would react, this is how he was.

"Dutchy..."

He sat up ad glared at her.

"How am I supposed to forget it happened when you keep bringing it up."

She hesitated, he was right, she decided not to push further in the risk that she may lose him altogether.

"Okay, I'm sorry!"

She lay back down reading her book, she glanced at him periodically wondering if he would forgive her.

The next morning Kate was in the kitchen making breakfast, it was her plan b, food normally cheered him up. Dutchy came out of his room following his nose, he walked up behind her.

"Mmm, smells good!"

Kate jumped not expecting him to be so close.

"Morning..."

She barely looked at him, she saw Dutchy shake his head out the corner of her eye. She put the bacon and eggs on a plate and handed it to him.

"Ah, you're cheery this morning..."

Dutchy took the plate from her and sat at the kitchen bench.

"I know I'm supposed to pretend it didn't happen but I want to ask you one more time..."

She turned and placed her pate on the bench.

"Dutchy..."

He began to eat his food and looked down at his plate.

"If that's what you really want?"

She paused and nodded.

"It is..."

He continued to eat his food not saying a word, Kate knew it wasn't that simple but at least they had agreed. Dutchy looked up from his food.

"If this is going to work you need to stop looking at me all weird okay?"

She nodded and sat down, she couldn't help feel a little guilty. She started to eat and glanced at him ever few seconds not realising what she was doing. Dutchy slammed down his fork.

"Kate!?"

She looked away.

"Mmm?"

He made eye contact with her.

"You're doing it again..."

She looked back down at her plate and cleared her throat.

"You wanna go for a swim later?"

"Yeah sounds good..."

Later that day at the beach Kate was in the water laying on a lilo, Dutchy swam up underneath her and flipped it over, she let out a scream before she flopped into the water. She recovered and stood up and pushed the wet hair out of her face.

"What, are you like 7?"

Dutchy laughed and pulled a piece of seaweed out of her hair.

"You were asking for it!"

Kate couldn't help but laugh, maybe he could forget about what had happened and it was going to be okay.

The next few days were uneventful, their relationship wasn't exactly the same but the awkward moments became less frequent.

They drove back into Cairns on Sunday morning so they could have some time to prepare for the work week ahead, Kate pulled her phone out of her bag.

"Well, back to reality..."

Dutchy snatched it off her.

"Are you sure? You could have another half a day of peace..."

Kate snatched the phone back.

"Ha! My reflexes have improved! I'm probably already in trouble for ignoring Maxine's call when we left..."

Kate turned on her phone, it beeped and buzzed for about 2 minutes. Dutchy laughed, Kate looked anxious and laughed nervously.

"Yeah, that's not a good sign is it?"

There were multiple missed calls from Navcom, Maxine and a number she didn't know.

"You better drop me straight home, I may have to go in and explain..."

Dutchy rolled his eyes.

"It's Sunday Kate, Maxine's probably at home..."

Kate dialled Maxine's number and cautiously held her phone to her ear, she was relieved when it went to voice mail.

"Uh, hi Maxine, Kate here, sorry I missed your calls, phone was out of range! I'm back in town now so if you need me give me a call, if not I'll see you tomorrow."

Kate quickly hung up and chucked the phone back into her back, Dutchy slapped her arm.

"Kate McGregor lying to the boss, never would have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes!"

"Yeah see, I'm not as perfect as you think!"

They pulled in to Kate's street, she shoved her belongings back into her bag.

"Thanks for this week! I had an amazing time..."

He smiled.

"Anytime!"

They pulled into her drive way and got out. Dutchy grabbed her bag as she limped towards the house.

"Are you sure you didn't want me to go hire another pair of crutches?"

"Nah, it's heaps better!"

She unlocked the door and they stood in her entry way, he held up her bag.

"Don't need me to unpack for you?"

Kate shook her head and pushed him towards the door.

"Aren't you sick of me yet?"

He turned to face her.

"That's not possible!"

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, Kate broke eye contact and opened the door.

"Well, I'll see you soon!"

Dutchy leaned in to give her a hug, she hesitated ever so slightly, he pretended he didn't notice. They separated and he went to walk away, she pulled him back.

"Thank you for understanding, you mean the world to me, I want you to know that!"

Dutchy faked a smile, he knew she meant well but he was still incredibly disappointed. She hugged him again, his smile disappeared as he embraced her, they lingered for a moment. Kate had her eyes closed but as she opened them she saw someone staring at them from the foot path. She froze, Dutchy felt her body tense up, he thought it was because they had hugged for too long, he didn't want it to be awkward again so he stepped back. He noticed her fixation over his shoulder.

"Kate?"

Dutchy turned to see what had distracted her, it was Mike. They both stood there staring, he walked up the path and cleared his throat.

"Ah, hi..."

End of Chapter 4. Xx


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone,

Been frantically working on this fic tonight so I could get out another chapter before I go away to Sydney tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I appreciate everyone taking the time to let me know what you think!

From Chapter 4

Dutchy leaned in to give her a hug, she hesitated ever so slightly, he pretended he didn't notice. They separated and he went to walk away, she pulled him back.

"Thank you for understanding, you mean the world to me, I want you to know that!"

Dutchy faked a smile, he knew she meant well but he was still incredibly disappointed. She hugged him again, his smile disappeared as he embraced her, they lingered for a moment. Kate had her eyes closed but as she opened them she saw someone staring at them from the foot path. She froze, Dutchy felt her body tense up, he thought it was because they had hugged for too long, he didn't want it to be awkward again so he stepped back. He noticed her fixation over his shoulder.

"Kate?"

Dutchy turned to see what had distracted her, it was Mike. They both stood there staring, he walked up the path and cleared his throat.

"Ah, hi..."

20 Questions

Chapter 5

Dutchy looked at Kate to see if she was okay, she gave him a slight nod to say "I'm fine." He glanced back at Mike not knowing what to say.

"Right then, we'll I better go do my washing cos I'm all out of jocks..."

Mike looked at him strangely, Dutchy laughed nervously and left. Kate rolled her eyes and for a split second she forgot that Mike was standing in front of her. He cleared his throat.

"Ah, do I want to know why Dutchy hasn't got any clean jocks?"

Kate stood there in shock trying to figure out why Mike was at her door step.

"Can I come in?"

She nodded and opened the door wider to let him in, he walked in the house nearly tripping over her bag, he glanced over at her.

"So you guys..."

Kate let out a frustrated huff.

"Seriously, did you really come here to talk about my personal life?"

Mike didn't mean it like that, he didn't come to fight.

"No Kate, I mean, look it's none of my business..."

She picked up her bag and frowned.

"No Flynn, it's not, but just so you don't think I'm breaking the rules we're not on the same ship but we're also just friends."

She chucked the bag into the laundry, Mike cautiously followed her into the house and noticed her limping.

"Are you okay? Why are you limping?"

She was surprised that he didn't have any more to say on the Dutchy subject.

"Ah, I fell over, but I'm fine..."

They walked to the lounge and sat down, she sat next to him and waited for him to tell her the reason he was there. He tried to come off as causal a possible, he smiled in her direction.

"So, how are you?"

She wasn't in the mood for small talk, she ignored his question.

"Why are you here?"

Mike got up off the couch and looked around her lounge room trying to think of how to break the news. Kate's eyes followed him around the room, she was getting impatient and nervous.

"Mike..."

He stopped and looked in her direction but not making direct eye contact.

"I umm, I'm back..."

He could feel her glare on him, he could tell she wasn't impressed.

"Back?"

He nodded still avoiding the classic Kate McGregor stare.

"Yeah, I have been posted back. Didn't Maxine tell you? She said she was going to call you?"

Kate remembered the multiple calls from the past few days, she cursed Dutchy for making her switch off her phone.

"Ah, my phone was out of range..."

He smiled and sat back down.

"So you were some where secluded?"

Kate looked at him disapprovingly, she knew he wanted to ask questions, she decided to play along.

"Yeah, it was so peaceful and relaxing... we had a lovely time, well apart from stuffing my ankle..."

"I'm glad... that you had a nice time, not about your ankle..."

There was a pause in the conversation, Mike tried to make an effort seeming he was the one who came to her. He sat back on the couch.

"So umm, Maxine tells me you're at Navcom now..."

"Yeah, the new Hammersley CO was..."

Kate looked up at him, she wanted to say "nothing like you" but she wasn't ready to pay him a compliment. She looked back down at her feet.

"Ah, we couldn't make it work... but I also wanted a life outside the Navy..."

Mike didn't respond, she looked over to him, his head was down and he was fiddling with something. She focused her eyes, he was spinning a ring around his 4th finger on his left hand. Mike looked up at Kate who was still focused on his ring.

"Oh yeah, I umm..."

Kate was gobbed smacked, she stood up.

"You're married?"

Mike cringed, this was not the way he wanted her to find out, although there was never going to be a perfect way.

"Yeah, her name is..."

She stood above him, she was so angry, but mostly at herself. She didn't really know why she was upset, but she didn't want to be.

"Why are you here Mike?"

Her voice sounded angry, she cringed and wished it hadn't come out that way. He stood up and stepped closer to her.

"I wanted to make sure we were okay, we have to work together..."

Kate immediately felt cornered and she started to get defensive.

"Right, so you wanted to make sure that I wouldn't blab about our inappropriate relationship?"

Mike was surprised by her reaction, he didn't think she'd be so offended.

"Kate, I want us to be friends... you're the one who broke it off..."

Kate paused for a minute to focus, she sat back down, he was right, she was the one who broke up with him. She didn't want him to think she was jealous, more than anything it hurt and made her feel inadequate. He had found someone he loved and obviously couldn't live without in 12 months and she had no one and she had been still pinning over him 6 months later. She didn't want to tell him that, she took a breath in and decided to try and be civil.

"Sorry Mike, you just surprised me that's all. I guess I was mad that you didn't say goodbye, after everything that we've been through you couldn't even tell me goodbye."

He nodded with agreement.

"I'm sorry Kate, it was a shitty thing to do..."

He rubbed his hands over his face.

"Look, you were right, I was selfish and I didn't handle things well. You did the right thing and I thank you for that. I left because I thought it would give both of us a fresh start."

"I know Mike but it just felt like it was 4 years ago at Watson's bay..."

He reached out to touch her hand.

"I'm sorry Kate, I didn't think of it like that."

She wanted to move on, he had at least apologised so she decided to change the subject.

"So, what will you be doing at Navcom? I haven't heard about any vacancies..."

Mike wasn't sure how she was going to react to the news.

"Ah, I'm actually replacing Maxine..."

Kate exhaled loudly.

"Right, so we'll be working together, like really together..."

Mike nodded and smiled nervously.

"Yeah, the A team is back!"

Kate let out a laugh.

"We did make a good team didn't we?"

Mike put a hand on her knee.

"The best..."

Kate jumped a little at Mike's touch.

"So where is...?"

He removed his hand.

"Emily...she's at the house unpacking..."

"So does she know about us?"

He shook his head.

"No, and it's not that I hid it from her, it just never came up..."

Kate thought it was a bit strange that they hadn't discussed past relationships. Mike could see by the expression on her face that she thought it was odd.

"Her theory is that the past is the past and it doesn't matter..."

Kate screwed up her face not buying the explanation.

"But our past helps us grow, it turns us into the people that we are, so are you asking me not to say anything?"

Mike moved closer, he didn't want her to think he was embarrassed or ashamed.

"No Kate, I just want her to hear it from me, that's all. But that's not why I'm here, I really want us to be okay, more than okay, I want us to be friends again."

Kate nodded, she did too but she needed time to process everything.

"It's fine Mike, look I actually need to get stuff organised for tomorrow so..."

She stood up, Mike followed her lead. They walked to the door, he stopped and turned..

"It's good to see you Kate..."

He stepped forward to hug her, she hesitated.

"Ah, yeah..."

They hugged awkwardly.

"I'll see you tomorrow!"

Kate nodded and shut the door and leaned her body against it.

"What the hell?"

The next morning Kate knocked on Mike's office door and popped her head in, he waived her in. Mike was sitting at his new desk and a woman who she assumed was Emily was perched on the corner. She hopped off as Kate entered and turned and greeted her with a smile. Kate approached the desk and discreetly looked her up and down, she was about Kate's age, slim build, shiny wavy brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Mike stood up and cleared his throat.

"Ah, Lieutenant Commander, welcome back!"

She gave him a nod trying to keep it all business.

"You too Sir..."

Emily walked up to Kate and smiled she scoffed and looked back at Mike.

"Seriously? This is how old friends greet each other?"

She laughed and hugged Kate, much to her surprise.

"Hi, I'm Emily, so good to meet you! Mike has told me so much about you!"

Kate glanced at Mike wondering if he had told her about their relationship yet, he shook his head slightly.

"Yeah, great to meet you too, although to be honest I know nothing about you!"

She ushered Kate over to the chairs.

"We'll have to change that won't we? Sit down! I'm so excited to be here, back where Mike's career really took off and with all his old crew mates. You guys sound like so much fun, I now understand why it took a bit of convincing to get him a shore posting in Darwin..."

Even thought she was completely over their relationship hearing that was like some one took a knife and stabbed her in the stomach. Mike had never took a shore posting in Cairns for her but in less than a year he had taken one in Darwin for Emily. Mike could see the cogs turning in Kate's head, he desperately wanted to change the subject.

"Ah, I better get my day started hun, I'll see you later!"

She nodded and gave him a kiss and smiled at Kate.

"We'll have to have you over or dinner, maybe tomorrow? I want all the sordid details!"

Kate smiled politely.

"Yeah, sounds good."

Emily left the office, Kate froze as the door clicked shut, what had she just agreed to? There was an awkward silence, Mike shuffled some paperwork on his desk.

"So..."

Kate didn't want it to be awkward, she wanted to move on but the universe was making it impossible.

"So, Emily seems nice, very spirited!"

Mike smiled at Kate making an effort.

"Yeah, she sees the good in everything, it's one of the things I love about her..."

Mike realised what he was saying and quickly broke eye contact.

"But anyway, what's been happening here? How long have you been here?"

"Ah, nearly a year now and not much has changed..."

Mike leaned forward over his desk.

"We can make this work right?"

Kate was mildly offended, she wasn't sure whether he was implying that she was the problem.

"Of course Sir..."

She stood and left his office and headed for hers, she rushed in the door and closed it. She turned and leaned her forehead on the door and took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth.

"Great first day back I see..."

She jumped as she heard Dutchy's voice, she turned and put a smiled on her face. He spun round in her chair, she walked over and pushed him out of it, he plonked himself on the other side of the desk. He leaned on it and held his head in his hands like an eager child waiting for dessert to be served.

"Tell, me, everything!"

Kate put her head on the desk.

"He's Maxine's replacement."

Dutchy's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"What? I didn't know she was leaving..."

Kate looked up at him.

"Me either... "

Dutchy leaned back in the chair.

"Wow... seeing your ex everyday! Sucks to be you."

She shot him a look and threw a pen at him.

"Thanks for the sympathy!"

She put her hands over her face.

"And that's not all..."

Dutchy leaned back in.

"Oh, what else?"

Kate's voice was muffled from her hands on her face.

"He's married..."

He leaned in closer.

"What?"

Kate removed her hands.

"He's married."

Dutchy leapt out of his chair.

"What?! He's only been gone 12 months..."

"She was in there before and of course she's lovely..."

Dutchy realised he had seen her walk out of Mike's office.

"Wait, was she the brunette in the dress?"

Kate groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, she's lovely and stunning!"

Dutchy placed his hand on her arm, she looked up at him.

"She's got nothing on you."

She smiled slightly.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up Dutchy..."

He smiled a devious smile.

"So do we hate her?"

Kate didn't want it to be like that, she was over Mike and she wanted to try to be friends.

"No! Not at all... I guess it was just a shock that's all."

Dutchy plonked himself back on the chair and folded his arms over his chest.

"Good, else I would have had to slap you cos you lied about being over him."

Kate rolled her eyes, Dutchy got up to leave and turned at the door.

"It's okay, you've got this! You guys were a great team!"

Kate smiled remembering their time on Hammersley.

"Yeah, we were. Hey, do me a favour?"

Dutchy shut the door and tilted his head intrigued.

"Anything for you!"

Kate smirked.

"That's a dangerous answer Petty Officer..."

Dutchy raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Dinner with me..."

Dutchy didn't hesitate.

"Done!"

She laughed.

"You didn't let me finish... with me and Mike and Emily."

Dutchy had an eager look on his face.

"Still done!"

Kate looked at him suspiciously.

"Thanks, but why do you look excited, like this won't be some kind of train wreck?"

Dutchy tried to contain his laughter.

"Are you kidding this will give me material for life, you having dinner with you ex and his new wife! I'd come just to see your facial expressions!"

Kate shook her head, of course he was taking the piss.

"You're the worst! But you might be right, he hasn't told her about us..."

Dutchy scrunched up his face.

"That's a bit shit! Maybe he still has feelings for you?"

She shook her head.

"Don't say that!"

He opened the door and left, he poked his head back in.

"You're a hard woman to get over Kate..."

Kate sighed, she really hoped Dutchy was wrong, she didn't need more guy drama in her life.

A few nights later Kate and Dutchy stood in front of Mike's front door, he went to knock on the door, she stopped him, she just needed a minute. Dutchy reached out and grabbed her hand and gave it a slight squeeze.

"It'll be fine Kate..."

She smiled half heartedly at him.

"Yeah..."

She released his hand from his grip and knocked on the door. Emily greeted them with a huge smile on her face.

"Kate! And umm, Dutchy?"

Dutchy smiled politely and nodded.

"Yeah, Dylan is fine, Dutchy is a Navy nickname..."

She grabbed both of their hands and pulled them inside the house.

"Come in! Come in!"

Emily escorted them out to the deck where Mike was sitting having a beer, he stood up and shook Dutchy's hand.

"Dutchy, good to see you! Hope you got all your washing done."

Dutchy laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, and good to see you too Boss!"

Kate gave Mike a hug to demonstrate that she was okay.

"Hey! Nice to see you house still has your umm, style?!"

Emily walked up behind her carrying a tray of veggies and laughed.

"Yeah! That'll change soon! Get some girly stuff up in here, right Kate?"

Kate laughed and sat down next to Dutchy. Emily served them all dinner and poured a glass of wine for everyone.

"So how long have you guys been together?"

Kate and Dutchy looked at each other awkwardly, Dutchy took a sip of wine and put his glass down.

"Oh, we're not together..."

Emily looked embarrassed, her cheeks turned a rosy red.

"Oh sorry, Mike mentioned that you guys went away together and when he said you were coming to dinner together I just assumed."

Kate shrugged it off trying to make her feel less embarrassed.

"It's okay, I think while we were away everyone assumed the same, we're just really good mates aren't we?"

She looked in Dutchy's direction, he smiled awkwardly and nodded.

"Yeah, I don't know why people think guys and girls can't be friends..."

Dutchy took a big gulp of his drink, he hoped that she had bought his explanation. Emily smiled and took a sip of her drink.

"Well that's sweet. Okay the real reason you're here Kate, tell me all the goss about Mike! You gotta have some good stuff working together for 5 years and from what I understand you're basically on top of each other on that boat?"

Dutchy nearly spat out his drink, Kate tried to hold back her laughter, Mike looked horrified. Emily looked at everyone's expression, she formed a confused look on her face.

"Ah, did I miss something?"

Kate cleared her throat.

"Ah, no, I guess I do have some good ones...what do you wanna hear about first? The toga partying or the..."

Emily's face lit up.

"Yes the toga partying, always the toga partying!"

Mike playfully hit Kate on the arm.

"Hey! What happened to "what happens in goat central, stays in goat central?"

Emily grabbed Kate's arm and pulled her close.

"Nope! Kate and I are gonna be best friends and girl talk over rules everything else!"

Mike looked at the devious expression on Emily and Kate's face, he could tell it was going to be a long night.

The evening progressed surprisingly well, Kate and Emily were getting along like old friends, mostly as they enjoyed torturing Mike together. Kate felt somewhat bad that she was hiding something from Emily, she was great, she totally understood why Mike loved her so much. Mike got up to get them another drink and Emily had gone to finish off dessert. Dutchy leaned over to Kate.

"You okay?"

Kate nodded, she actually was. It was just like old times, Mike and her were friendly and she was making a new friend.

"Yeah, I am! I really like her, it's actually annoying!"

Dutchy playfully hit her on the arm.

"Well at least you can admit it."

They had finished dinner, Dutchy stood up to cleared the table. Emily went to stop him.

"Oh Dutchy you don't need to do that!"

He continued to clear the plates.

"I insist!"

She winked at Kate.

"Maybe you should lock this one down Kate, his mother taught him well!"

Kate laughed nervously, Dutchy looked over to Kate with a strange expression on his face, Emily sensed some tension.

"Ah, I'll give you a hand..."

Emily grabbed some dished from Dutchy and they took them into the kitchen. As they were stacking the dishwasher Emily punched Dutchy on the arm, he frowned and rubbed his arm.

"Hey, what was that for?"

She leaned in towards him.

"You like her don't you?"

Dutchy pretended not to know what she was talking about.

"Who?"

Emily rolled her eyes.

"C'mon! I know there are rules but I won't tell...you've got feelings for Kate don't you?"

Dutchy continued to pack the dishwasher avoiding eye contact.

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

Emily shook her head and rolled her eyes, _typical guy denial._ She knew better than to believe him.

"Has anything happened?"

Dutchy could help but smile thinking about the moment they had shared while they were away, before Kate had shut him down. Emily's eyes lit up as she saw the goofy love struck expression cover his face.

"It's has! What happened? Was it when you went away?"

He nodded and looked around to check that Mike or Kate weren't within earshot.

"Shhh!"

She hit him with a tea towel.

"Well why aren't you together?"

Dutchy sighed.

"She doesn't want to ruin our friendship..."

"Hmm, you guys are close yeah? You guys have something special, I can tell!"

Dutchy laughed.

"Well now that you're BFF can you please tell her that!"

She nudged him with her elbow.

"I'll try and slip it in somewhere!"

Kate was standing in the doorway with the remaining plates.

"Ah, slip what in where? That all sounds really umm awkward!"

Emily laughed it off.

"Nothing! C'mon I think we need more wine?"

She walked over to Kate and refilled her glass, she turned and winked at Dutchy.

"We'll be spilling secrets in no time..."

Kate wasn't sure what was going on but she didn't want to cause any drama, everyone was getting along and they were having a good night.

The next morning Kate knocked on Mike's office door.

"Commander?"

She walked into the office, Mike looked up from his paperwork.

"Ah Kate, hi! Emily had a great time last night! She just loves you!"

Kate smiled.

"Yeah, she's great! You picked a winner there! Um, that's what I came to talk to you about actually."

Mike stopped what he was doing.

"What about her?"

Kate shifted on the spot.

"Ah, I think it's best if we don't tell her about us..."

Mike looked a little guilty and nodded in agreement.

"I was thinking the same thing. I mean I don't want to hide it but I just don't see the point in dredging up the past, I mean not that..."

Kate walked over and put a hand on his.

"It's ok Mike, I know what you mean and yeah I agree."

She glanced down realising her had was still touching his, she pulled it away and cleared her throat.

"Well that's that then! I'll let you continue on with your work!"

She rushed to the door.

"Ah, Kate..."

She turned at the door.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks..."

She titled her head.

"For what?"

He glanced up at her and smiled his classic smile.

"Being you..."

She gave a slight nod and left.

Her phone rang as she entered her office, it was from an unknown number.

"Hello, Kate McGregor..."

"Kate! It's Emily, I got your number from Mike's phone! Have you got time for lunch today?"

"Ah, yeah sure! There's a cafe next to Navcom, say 1230..."

Kate hung up, she was a little concerned why she wanted to meet her.

Kate sat at her desk to try and get some work done. She couldn't concentrate she kept imagining situations where Emily found out about them.

1215 finally came around and Kate headed for the cafe. Emily was sitting at a table, she smiled as she saw Kate enter the cafe.

"Kate!"

"Hi Em..."

They gave each other a hug and sat down, Kate was nervous, she wanted to know why Emily wanted to meet. She tried to get to the point without being to obvious.

"So, what's happening?"

Emily laughed at Kate's question, she was always straight to the point, she could tell she was on edge, but wasn't sure why.

"First things first I've ordered some pizza, hope that's okay?"

"Food is always okay with me!"

Kate started to play with the napkin in front of her, she liked Emily, she didn't want to hurt her. Emily cleared her throat.

"Ah, I wanted to talk to you about something personal..."

Kate's heart skipped a beat.

"Like what?"

A smirk came over Emily's face.

"Ah, your love life..."

Kate froze, this was it, but she didn't understand why Emily was smiling. She wanted to explain, get her side out first.

"Emily, let me explain..."

Emily sensed her nervousness and placed her hand on Kate's.

"Kate, look I get that I'm new around here and you can tell me to butt out but I don't think you need to explain to me, I think you need to explain to Dutchy..."

Kate paused, what had Dutchy said?

"Dutchy? What about him!?"

Emily rolled her eyes, she could see Kate was confused, surly she had some idea, she was a smart woman.

"You guys are both so frustrating! You can't be that blind Kate, he is crazy about you!"

Kate was a little embarrassed and uncomfortable, she wasn't sure if she wanted to discuss this with Mike's wife.

"Did he say something to you?"

"No, don't get mad at him, I guessed. But then he maybe implied that something happened on your holiday together."

Kate put her head in her hands.

"No, we talked about this. We decided we're best to stay as friends..."

Emily gave her an unimpressed look, Kate tried to look innocent.

"What?"

Emily scoffed.

"I think it's more like you decided, look I'm not trying to tell you how to deal with your love life but c'mon! He's so sweet and obviously into you and I don't want to sound totally superficial but are you blind? He is smoking! I don't know if I could stop myself from jumping him if he was walking around me topless for a week!"

Kate laughed, of course she knew all of these things but she couldn't ruin their friendship.

"Em, you don't understand. He is my *best* friend..."

Emily began to get animated, she threw her hands in the air out of frustration.

"OMG! Yeah and Mike's my best friend, that's why we're married! I can't bear the thought of living my life without him."

Kate felt that ping of hurt again, she hoped her expression didn't read over her face.

"But if something happens and we can't make it work..."

Emily squeezed Kate's hand.

"You deal with it, if or when it happens..."

Kate shook her head.

"I can't Em... I can't risk it!"

Emily sighed and looked at her sympathetically.

"You have to let him go then..."

Kate frowned.

"What do you mean? We were never..."

"Kate, I think he still hangs on to hope that one day you'll change your mind..."

The waiter brought over their food, they both smiled politely as he put it down in front of them. Kate began to eat hoping the subject would fade off, Emily laughed, she knew exactly what Kate was trying to do.

"Kate..."

She sighed and put down her slice of pizza.

"Okay, okay..."

Emily couldn't help but feel something else was stopping her from trying things but it technically wasn't any of her business. She had only known Kate for 24 hours but she could tell that she was a private person, she didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Just let him down gently..."

Kate sighed, why couldn't she have any non complicated relationships?

"Oh, please don't tell..."

Emily shook her head and laughed.

"Wouldn't dare..."

Emily picked up a piece of pizza and glanced at Kate.

"You don't have a lot of girlfriends do you?"

Kate was slightly embarrassed, she didn't.

"I'm in the Navy, it's a boys club."

Emily grinned, she really liked Kate, she patted her arm.

"Well, I'm here now...we can start our own club."

Kate laughed as she ate her pizza, who would have thought that she would be discussing her love life with Mike's wife. She actually felt better, like a weight had been lifted.

"What's so funny?"

Kate shrugged.

"I used to think girl talk was silly and overrated..."

Emily laughed.

"Yeah, cos you were doing it wrong. 'Girl talk' is only 'girl talk' if it's with another girl, and no, Dutchy doesn't count."

End of Chapter 5.

Don't forget to review, pretty please! xx


	6. Chapter 6

Hey everyone,

Another quick chapter out, sorry they're a bit shorter but sometimes it's a bit easier, plus it means I can't go back and change things!

Thanks to everyone for the feedback!

If you're new to my fics just a side note, they're usually pretty dramatic and definitely fiction! Haha

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review :)

20 Questions

Chapter 6

Later that day Kate sat in her office tapping her pen on her desk, she couldn't concentrate. Emily's words swirled around in her head "You need to let him go". She chucked the pen onto the desk out of frustration, she took out her phone out of her bag and dialled Dutchy's number. She frowned as she heard the Telstra automated message "The number you have called has been switched off or is out of range. Please try again later."

Kate sighed and hung up, she got up and walked over to Mike's office, she knocked and popped her head in.

"Hey! When does Hammersley next go out?"

Mike looked up from his paperwork.

"Why?"

Kate tried to sound casual.

"Oh just needed to talk to Dutchy about something..."

Mike continued on with his paperwork.

"Ah, they were crash sailed this morning, back in a few days."

Kate nodded and went to leave, Mike called out after her.

"Was it important? I can give the ship a call..."

Kate shook her head.

"Nah, it can wait a few days!"

Kate left his office, she was actually relieved. She needed a game plan, she wasn't really sure how she should approach this, she didn't want to make it worse.

A few days later Kate was leaving Navcom for the day and saw the Hammersley returning to port. She was ready, she had a plan, take him some food and booze to soften him up a little then discuss the 'issue' with him calmly and let him down gently. She really hoped it wasn't a big deal and that Emily had just read too much into it.

That night she drove to Dutchy's house with his favourite dinner, chicken schnitzel and some beer and wine for her. She knocked on the door, a few seconds later she heard footsteps.

"I'm coming... hang on!"

He opened the door, she looked him up and down and couldn't help but giggle. He had a fluffy pink towel wrapped around his waist and was surprised to see her.

"Kate! What are you doing here?"

She held up the bags of food and drinks.

"Thought you might need these after 3 days out at sea?"

He smiled and ushered her in the door.

"You're a life saver! Let me go get some clothes on."

He stopped in front of her and posed.

'Unless you would rather me wear this?"

She scoffed and shook her head and sat on the couch.

"Right, I'll be back in a sec..."

He returned with his sausage dog PJs on, Kate giggled again.

"God you're hard to please McGregor! Don't like me half naked, don't like me covered up!

Kate tried to contain her laughter.

"Sorry Dutchy, just didn't pick you for a Peter Alexander PJs kinda guy..."

Dutchy pretended to walk the catwalk in front of her.

"I'll have you know my mother bought me these."

He plonked himself on the couch and laughed. Kate sat there wondering if she should bring up the awkward subject, they were pretty much back to how they used to be. She heard Emily's voice in her head again.

Dutchy was eagerly chowing down on his dinner only stopping momentarily to open a beer. Kate sat there not know what to do, Dutchy put his fork down and glanced sideways at her with a mouthful of food.

"Everything okay?"

Kate got up and grabbed a wine glass and poured herself a large glass. Dutchy watched her, he knew something was up.

"Uh oh..."

She took a sip and glanced at him.

"What?"

Dutchy finished his mouthful and gave her an all knowing look.

"Really, you still don't think I know you? Kate, I can tell something is up..."

She put down her glass, this was her opportunity, she couldn't void it any longer.

"Ah, I had lunch with Emily the other day..."

Dutchy continued to eat not thinking it was such a big deal.

"That's nice, so you guys are mates now?"

"Yeah, she's great!"

Dutchy smiled.

"Well I'm glad, it's nice that you have an actual girlfriend, I mean even if it is Mike's wife."

Kate began to eat her dinner, she tried to make the discussion as laid-back as possible.

"Yeah, she's smart and we have the same sense of humour and she's really observant isn't she?"

She glanced over to Dutchy with a questioning look, he swallowed his mouthful of food, he knew she was trying to imply something.

"What has she observed?"

Kate gave him a look to say "don't make me say it." He knew what she was referring to, he was immediately on the defensive.

"Kate, she guessed, I didn't say anything!"

Kate placed a hand on his knee.

"Yeah I know, I'm not mad Dutchy but I guess the issue is that she guessed, so who's not to say other people haven't drawn the same conclusion."

Dutchy frowned.

"And all of a sudden that's a problem now? You were joking about it when we were away..."

He was starting to get worked up but she was in too deep, she had to continue.

"It isn't a problem Dutchy, well actually it is if we're trying to have other relationships. Umm, Emily seemed to think that you weren't honest when you said you could just go back to the way we were and be okay with it..."

Dutchy broke eye contact.

"So..."

This was getting ridiculous, she was going to have to say spell it out and say the exact words that she didn't want to.

"Dutchy, you need to move on..."

She regretted it as soon as she said it, it sounded arrogant and it made Dutchy sound pathetic. He looked at her stunned at her choice of words.

"So you think I'm just sitting here pinning after you? You think I'm a pathetic loser?"

She reached out to touch him, to try and reassure him.

"Dutchy! No! That's not what..."

He stood up not wanting to hear her explanation.

"Thanks Kate... good to know what really you think of me..."

He stormed out the house and slammed the door. Kate swallowed the rest of her glass and put a pillow over her face and screamed.

Dutchy stormed into the pub and sat at the bar.

"Double scotch and keep them coming."

Emily and Mike were having dinner and observed Dutchy's odd behaviour, Emily watched has he downed multiple drinks and muttered to herself.

"That wasn't gently Kate..."

Mike looked at her strangely.

"What?"

Emily's concentration turned back to Mike.

"Oh umm, nothing..."

They continued to eat their dinner, Emily kept glancing over at Dutchy making sure he wasn't going to completely explode. Mike looked up at her noticing something was distracting her.

"Em, what's going on?"

She stood up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Just give me a minute."

She walked over to Dutchy and cautiously sat down next to him, he glanced over to her and shook his head.

"What happened to just slipping it into the conversation?"

She cringed.

"I'm sorry Dutchy, I tried to convince her."

He exhaled loudly and ordered another drink.

"But I don't want her to be convinced, she either feels it or she doesn't."

The bartender poured him another and put it in front of him, he downed it in one mouthful. Mike was getting impatient and approached them.

"Em?"

She turned to Mike.

"Mike, go back and finish your dinner, please. I'll be over in sec."

Mike frowned but did as Emily asked, Dutchy rolled his eyes.

"He's the last person I need involved in this, please don't say anything."

She thought it was an odd thing to say but then she remembered the rules.

"Right, because he's your Boss?"

Dutchy was about to say something but he realised that she didn't know the real reason, he tried to cover his tracks.

"Ah, yeah... exactly..."

Emily frowned, she knew there was more too it.

"Dutchy what aren't you telling me?"

He shook his head and broke eye contact.

"Don't worry you don't need more drama!"

She leaned in closer.

"Dutchy, how does this involve Mike?"

He sighed, he couldn't make this situation worse, she hit him on the arm.

"Dutchy, now you've got me worried!"

He looked at Emily's concerned face, this wasn't her fault, he didn't want to upset her.

"It's complicated..."

She placed her hand on his.

"Dutchy, please..."

Dutchy ordered another drink, he had said too much and now he was going to ruin everything.

"Kate and umm Mike, they were ahh..."

He couldn't finish the sentence, but he didn't need to. Emily was stunned, she turned and calmly walked back to the table, Dutchy tried to stop her, he called out after her.

"Emily! Wait!"

She didn't stop. Dutchy finished his drink and put his head on the bar.

Emily sat back down at the table silent, Mike looked up at her.

"Everything ok?"

She nodded and put on a smile.

They drove home in silence, Mike was confused about her mood. They sat on the couch and he tried to start a conversation.

"So what was up with Dutchy?"

She turned to face him with a solemn look on her face.

"Did you love her?"

Mike froze for a moment not understanding where the question had come from.

"Excuse me?"

Her voice became louder, she was scared he was going to lie to her.

"Don't play games Mike! Kate, we're you in love with her..."

Mike was astounded, he wasn't expecting that question to come out of her mouth.

"Where is this coming from? Did Dutchy say something?"

She tried to calm herself but she was frustrated, was that all he was concerned about?

"How could you not say anything?"

Mike didn't want to make excuses but he had to defend himself.

"You said you didn't care about past relationships?"

Emily raised her voice.

"Yeah, that's until I befriended one of them! God, I feel so stupid!"

Mike grabbed her hands.

"Em, it doesn't matter, we're all friends now, right?"

Emily was fuming but most of all she was hurt and humiliated, she was hurt that Mike hadn't told her and humiliated that she would have looked like a complete fool to everyone.

"Why didn't you say anything? I probably would have found out as it seems others know!"

"Em, we just didn't want it to be weird and you guys totally hit it off so we felt it was better left in the past. I wasn't supposed to hurt you, it was over a long time ago!"

Emily sighed, she had always trusted Mike but something plagued her.

"I dunno, I just wonder if she still has feelings for you?"

Mike was shocked at her accusation.

"Why an earth would you think that?"

Emily hesitated, she told Dutchy that she wouldn't say anything but it all had to come out, there were too many secrets.

"Because she won't go out with Dutchy..."

Mike stood up, _what the hell was happening?_

"Hang on Dutchy? She has feelings for Dutchy?"

Emily titled her head.

"Why are you getting so upset? If you don't have any feelings for her then why..."

He sat back down and moved close to her.

"I'll explain everything if you want me to... I just ask that you remember that I love you, I asked you to marry me because you're my best friend and I can't live without you..."

She sighed and sat back on the couch.

"Kate and I were in a relationship for a bit, it was very on and off."

Emily couldn't make eye contact with him.

"How long?"

It was Mike's turn to look at his feet.

"A few years..."

Emily stiffened and shot a look at him.

"Years?!"

He tightened his grip on Emily's hand.

"But it didn't work out. We were on the same ship and we didn't want to break the rules. I got a shore posting for a few weeks and we started up again but then I was re assigned for 12 months so she broke it off..."

Emily removed her hands from his grip.

"She broke it off?"

He nodded and put his hand on her knee.

"Yes, but then I left for Darwin."

Emily took a breath in, she didn't want to ask the next question but she had to know.

"Did you leave because you still loved her?"

Mike hesitated, he wasn't going to lie again, he hoped she would appreciate his honesty.

"Partly, yes."

Emily put her head in her hands.

"I feel like an idiot!"

Tears started to well in her eyes, Mike felt terrible, he should have told her before the moved back.

"But then I met you! Emily I love you! please understand, we wanted to tell you. We thought that we'd have some more time to figure it out but you invited her over to dinner and now the rest if history. Please Em, it was a mistake and I'm sorry. I, we didn't want to ruin your friendship over something that was way in the past."

Emily stayed silent. Mike didn't want to seem evasive but wanted to know more about Kate and Dutchy.

"So I'm confused, you think she won't date Dutchy cos she's still in love with me?"

She nodded again.

"Has she told you why she won't date him?"

She still refused to make eye contact with him.

"She said that she didn't want to lose him as a friend."

Mike didn't want to make it seem like he was taking her side but he thought it was a legitimate reason.

"Well they are close, they are probably best friends..."

"Yeah, but like I said to her, we're best friends and we're married. Shouldn't you marry your best friend?"

She looked up at him, Mike wiped away the tears from her face.

"Yeah, but I guess close friends are hard to come by in the Navy, you lose touch with a lot of people due to your lifestyle and schedule."

Emily took a deep breath in.

"So are you saying there's no possible way she still has feelings for you?"

Mike didn't want to lie, he knew he and Kate always had something, even just as friends and work mates they had a connection but he couldn't risk it.

"Kate and I had a connection and I guess no matter what we still find a way to be friends but as far as I know she is over it. I don't want you to feel like it's a huge deal, I mean we worked very closely together for 4 years we were bound to form a bond."

Emily sighed.

"I just need some time to process it... I'm gonna go to bed..."

Emily got up off the couch, Mike pulled on her arm.

"Em, I love you."

She turned and gave him a half-hearted smile.

"I love you too, that why this hurts so much..."

She walked up the stairs to the bedroom, she lay in bed tossing and turning. She was normally a rational person and could see both sides but this had blindsided her, made her feel so uncomfortable. It was more frustrating that she actually liked Kate but it worried her that Mike had kept this from her, she didn't think that they had any secrets.

She sat up as she heard the front door close, she looked out the window and saw Mike drive off. She immediately got out of bed and ran to her car to follow him.

She had no idea where he had gone, she tried to call him but he didn't answer. She drove around the block at a loss of where he had gone, she parked the car and sat there for a moment, she sighed and pull off the curb. She pulled up out the front of Kate's house and saw Mike's car, she didn't know whether she should go in and confront them. She turned off the car and stood at the front door seeing if she could hear them, she felt un easy; she knocked and opened the door.

"Hello?"

She entered the house and found them in the lounge, they both stopped talking and turned, completely surprised to see her. Mike walked up to her and grabbed her hand.

"Em, what are you doing here?"

She looked at Kate, she looked guilty then looked back at Mike.

"I could ask you the same... getting your story straight?"

Mike squeezed her hand.

"Emily, I know how this looks but..."

Kate approached them.

"Em, I'm so sorry! You were just so nice and we got along so well, which I guess I didn't expect and, please..."

Mike had already tried to explain and she had heard his side but she needed to hear Kate's side, she let go of his hand.

"Can you give Kate and I a minute?"

He nodded.

"I'll be in the car..."

Kate and Emily sat down on the couch.

"Do you have any feelings for him?"

Kate was shocked at the accusation.

"No! Emily, he loves you! It was over so long ago! I think we dragged it on for too long, neither of us could left go, we just needed to end it for good."

"And that's why he moved to Darwin?"

Kate shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess, we both needed a fresh start, he made the decision to leave."

Emily wanted to trust her, their stories were similar, there was no reason to lie if she knew about it.

"Okay, I thought he might have been some of the reason why you wouldn't date Dutchy."

Kate sighed.

"Well, it is but not in the way you think, it's more the same situation. Working together and breaking the rules, things like that. Em, he loves you, he married you and I can see why, please don't be mad, I actually went to him asking him not to tell you. It was after the dinner, we had such a good time that I didn't want to ruin it."

Emily could see she was sorry, she didn't want to make her feel worse.

"It's okay Kate, I believe you..."

There was a pause in the conversation, Kate fiddled with her necklace.

"I don't wanna push my luck but how did you find out?"

It was Emily's turn to feel uncomfortable.

"Well, don't be mad cos he didn't say it on purpose but..."

Kate immediately knew who she was talking about.

"Dutchy..."

Emily nodded.

"He seemed pretty upset tonight. Did you guys talk?"

"I tried and I failed miserably, he now thinks that I think he's pathetic... god I've really stuffed things up! You and Mike, Dutchy and I, maybe I should just move..."

"Kate, it's okay I believe you...was it really that bad with Dutchy?"

Kate nodded and covered her face with her hands.

"Where is he?"

"He's at the pub, but maybe you should just leave him..."

Kate looked concerned.

"No, Dutchy, drinking and anger is not a good mix, I better go see him, I can't be responsible if something bad happens to him..."

Kate gave her a hug.

"Thanks for being so great about this! Now I've gotta go help my other BFF."

Emily smiled and walked with Kate to the car.

"Good luck!"

Kate ran into the pub and looked around for Dutchy. Swain and 2Dads we're at the bar with him trying to convince him to go home, Kate raced over to them.

"It's okay, I've got this guys!"

They were hesitant to leave her with him.

"It's okay... I'll let you know if I need back up!"

They nodded and left him with Kate. Dutchy turned to face her, he slurred his words.

"What do you want? Come to see how a pathetic guy spends his free time."

Kate sighed, she semi deserved it, this wasn't going to be easy.

"C'mon Dutchy, come home. You don't need to be here..."

He turned back to the bar.

"No, you don't need to be here, why are you here?"

She tried to pull him away.

"I care about you Dutchy..."

He pulled back.

"Yeah, sure you do!"

He tried to walk away but stumbled, Kate caught him and put his arm around her neck.

"Yeah, I do! C'mon, let's go!"

Kate pulled him along and out to her car. She shoved him in the passenger seat and drove him home. She parked in the drive way and went round to the passengers side and opened the door, he was sprawled over the seat. She tried to get his keys out his pocket, he lay back on the seat and scoffed.

"So now you want to get in my pants!"

She rolled her eyes and pulled his keys out. She dragged him inside and plonked him on the couch, he pulled her towards him and attempted to sit up.

"Kate, I know you feel the same! Why don't you want me to be happy?"

He collapsed back on the couch close to passing out. She sat there feeling terrible, how could he think that she didn't want him to be happy. She dug in his pocket for his phone, she searched though it for a number and got out her phone and copied it in to hers. She sent him a message for him to see in the morning to let him know how he got home. She covered him with a blanket and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"I'll try and make it up to you big fella."

Kate left and headed back to her house. She sat on the couch staring at her phone, re reading the message over and over. Her thumb hovered over the send button, she exhaled loudly and pressed send.

"Of course I want you to be happy..."

End Chapter 6

Don't forget to review! Xx


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everyone,

hope everyone's had a good weekend! Mine has just begun so I'm celebrating with a new chapter! Plus I'm trying not to leave you in suspense for too long haha

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback! I always wonder if people are like me and when there's a part in the story I like or dislike I'm basically yelling at the screen or making weird facial expressions haha that's how I read the feedback anyway, imagining people getting really animated over it! I love it how people get into it so much! So thanks, it makes me smile :)

Anyway, on with the show...

20 Questions

Chapter 7

The next morning Dutchy awoke with a pounding headache, he sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. Why was he on the couch? How did he get home? There was an annoying banging sound, he didn't know where it was coming from. He shook his head trying to re focus and realised that the banging was someone knocking on the door. He stumbled his way to the door, he leaned on the door frame as he opened it, the sun beamed in blocking his vision. He put his hand up to shield his eyes and squinted.

"Hello?"

A woman stepped forward blocking the sun.

"Sarah?"

She smiled cautiously.

"Hi Dutchy..."

He rubbed his face and tried to look a bit more presentable.

"Ah, hi, come in..."

He moved aside and allowed her in, they sat on the couch.

"Ah sorry, I must look like crap! I had a big night."

She laughed.

"Yeah, I was warned."

Dutchy looked at her confused, Sarah laughed again and handed him his phone.

"Check it..."

Dutchy grabbed his phone expecting to see a drunken message that he had sent Sarah but instead there was a message from Kate.

"You're my best friend, of course I want you to be happy. Don't be scared, there is something here, don't hold back, you know what love is!"

Dutchy smiled and put his phone down.

"Kate messaged you?"

She nodded and held his hand.

"I get that you two are just friends, I'm sorry I was jealous. We had something good Dutchy and I'd really like to try again."

He glanced at his phone and then back at Sarah's hopeful face, he knew that he did have some sort of feelings for her and Kate had made it quite clear that she wasn't interested. Before Dutchy could say something Sarah held up a takeaway bag.

"I brought breakfast! She told me that you'd be more inclined to listen if I fed you!"

He laughed and took the bag from her.

"Yeah, it's a good start...I'll go get us some plates..."

He headed to the kitchen and took his phone. He stood at the bench for a moment and opened his messages, didn't really know what to write, but he knew that this was her way of trying to tell him that she was sorry. He may have over reacted the other night when she told him that he needed to move on but she was probably right. He typed a reply.

"Thanks BFF!"

Kate received the message and smiled. She put her phone down and sighed wondering how to fill in her now vacant nights without him. Her phone buzzed again, she picked it up expecting it to be Dutchy, it was from an unknown number.

"Hi Kate, it's Ben, I don't know if you'll remember but we were supposed to have a blind date ages ago. I know this is very random but I would like to try again, I completely understand if it's a no. I felt terrible about it and I would love to make it up to you. Dinner, Friday? Pick you up at 7?"

Kate was gobsmacked, she shook her head and wondered if this was Dutchy's doing or maybe it was a coincidence and good relationship karma? She decided to take a chance and replied.

"Sure, see you at 7..."

The next day at work Kate got a message from Emily.

"Dinner and drinks Friday night?"

She replied.

"Can't, have a date..."

As soon as she sent her message her phone rang, it was Emily.

"Hi Em!"

"Ah date? Excuse me? Did you forget to tell me that you met someone?"

"No, it was actually a blind date that never eventuated."

"He must have come to his sense then!"

"Yeah, something like that, I promise that I'll fill you in on Saturday..."

Mike knocked on the door, she waived him in.

"Ah Kate..."

Emily could hear Mike in the background.

"Is that my husband? Tell him not to interrupt important business!"

Kate laughed and moved the phone aside.

"Em says you're interrupting!"

Mike rolled his eyes.

"I'll come back!"

Kate put the phone back up to her ear.

"Dinner and drinks to debrief on Saturday?"

"Done! See you then!"

Finally it was Friday night, Kate was nervous once again. She stood in front of her mirror finishing her makeup. She stepped back and looked herself up and down, she had a sickening feeling of déjà vu. There was a knock at the door, she looked at her phone, he was a half hour early. She raced down stairs and opened the door, it wasn't Ben, it was Dutchy.

"Dutchy! Oh, don't tell me he messaged you to bail again!"

Dutchy gave her an "I have no idea what you're talking about" look.

"Huh?"

Kate realised it must have been a strange coincidence.

"Ah, your mate Ben messaged me the other day wanting to try again..."

Dutchy smiled and looked her up and down.

"So you're going out tonight? Well I'd better go then, I just wanted to come and say thanks for messaging Sarah..."

She smiled.

"So you guys are working it out then..."

"Yeah we're trying... well, have a good night! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

He gave her a wink and left. 10 minutes later Ben knocked on the door. Kate stood in front of the door and checked herself in the mirror, she took a deep breath in and opened the door. She was pleasantly surprised, Ben was tall and muscular with sandy brown hair and deep blue eyes.

"Ah Ben, hi!"

He presented her with a bunch of peonies.

"Hi! These are part 1 if my apology!"

She smiled and invited him in.

"It's okay, you don't have to..."

He shook his head.

"No! I do and now I see that Dutchy wasn't lying about how beautiful you are I feel like a complete idiot!"

Kate tried to hide her red cheeks.

"Let me just put these in some water and we can go..."

They arrived at the restaurant, it was one of Kate's favourites. He got out the car and ran around to her side to escort her in.

"Why do I get the feeling that you had some inside help?"

He gave her a cheeky grin.

"I guess you'll never know..."

They sat down and Ben poured them a glass of wine, there was an awkward pause, they both laughed nervously. They went to speak at time and laughed again, Ben slid the wine glass towards her.

"Ladies first..."

She shook her head and laughed.

"I don't know if my colleagues would agree with you about the lady part!"

Ben looked a bit concerned, Kate waived her hand in the air realising he could be taking that all wrong.

"Oh no, nothing ah strange..."

She could feel the redness return to her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, let's start again..."

Ben laughed at her nervousness, he thought it was endearing.

"It's okay Kate, don't be nervous... but I do want to know everything about you..."

Kate wasn't really comfortable being the centre of attention, she took a sip of her wine hoping it would help her feel a little more relaxed. She looked over her wine glass at him.

"Anything in particular?"

"Well, just start from the beginning..."

Kate didn't really know where to start, it had been years since she had a first date.

"Well, I'm a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy..."

He smiled and nodded along.

"I was out at sea for most of my career but now I have a shore posting at Navcom."

He tilted his head slightly.

"Why the change?"

She smirked.

"Have you ever tried to have a life while you're constantly being crash sailed..."

He took a sip of his wine and laughed.

"I think we're more alike than we know. I'm in the Army and have just taken an office/intel based position so I'm home more..."

Kate swallowed her mouthful nearly chocking on it, Ben looked worried.

"Are you okay?"

Kate cursed Dutchy in her mind.

"Sorry, it's just umm when I made this deal with Dutchy about setting me up, I said strictly no Navy or SAS..."

Ben laughed.

"I'm not hearing an issue, you didn't say no Army..."

Kate rolled her eyes, it was exactly what Dutchy would have said, Ben suddenly looked nervous.

"Ah, can I ask why? Is it a deal breaker?"

Kate put her hand on his arm.

"Ah, it's silly, my last 2 boyfriends were in the Navy and SAS so I guess it's just a stupid paranoia thing, but no it's not a deal breaker."

Ben could tell she was uncomfortable talking about it, he wanted to make her feel more at ease.

"Okay, well at least we're both on shore right? And it sounds like for the same reason and umm, I feel like I owe you an explanation for the failed date."

She shook her head.

"You're here now it doesn't matter!"

"It does, I felt terrible for weeks, I had just got out of a long term relationship and I didn't want to use anyone as a rebound. I guess I was scared, I mean I thought my future was set, we had all these plans and all of a sudden they're gone..."

Kate couldn't believe how honest he was being, it was refreshing. She squeezed is hand trying to show her support.

"It's okay Ben, we all have a past, we all have that someone who has hurt us."

The rest of the night was pleasant, they laughed and talked for hours. Kate was surprised that she felt so at ease although Ben was very easy to like, he was polite sensitive and it helped that he easy on the eye. He was also very similar to her and liked a lot of the same things. The restaurant lights dimmed, they looked around, Kate laughed.

"I think that's a sign that they want us out!"

He drove her home and walked her to the door.

"So... can I see you again?"

She smiled and hesitated, Ben put on a sad face. Kate rolled her eyes internally, another thing that Dutchy did so well.

"Yeah, I think so..."

"Think so? We'll I'll have to try harder won't I?"

Before she could say anything he leaned in and kissed her, it took her by surprise but she relaxed into it. They separated and Kate giggled.

"I feel too old to be having a first kiss..."

Ben gave her another kiss.

"Dinner tomorrow?"

"Ah, I have plans but why don't you come?"

"Oh, I don't want to intrude..."

"I'm just having dinner with friends..."

"Are you sure?

She hesitated for a moment remembering the drama, did she want to involve him in that? Without realising she nodded.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow then, I'll pick you up."

The next evening Ben had picked up Kate and they were driving to Mike and Emily's place. She was debating on whether to explain their situation, she was sick of secrets and drama, she wanted an honest relationship. She took a deep breath in.

"Ah, before we get there I probably need to explain..."

Ben looked over to her intrigued.

"Explain?"

Kate laughed nervously.

"I don't know if this is going to sound weird or crazy, but just in case it somehow comes up I don't want it to be uncomfortable."

Ben laughed.

"Uh oh, here it comes right?"

She laughed and slapped his arm.

"It's not that bad, but I am gonna break the dating rules and talk about an ex."

Ben rolled his eyes.

"Girls and their rules, just tell me Kate..."

Kate took a deep breath in.

"Okay, so Mike and Emily are married. Mike was and still is my Boss, he was my CO on Hammersley for 4 years and now he's my boss at Navcom."

Ben nodded along.

"Okay, no alarm bells yet!"

Kate paused for a moment and glanced at him warily.

"We used to date..."

She looked over to Ben too see his reaction, he didn't seem that phased. He sighed a little.

"Was it serious?"

She broke eye contact and fiddled with her purse.

"On and off for 4 years..."

Ben's eyes darted back to the road and then back to her, he put on his indicator and pulled over.

"Right... was he the one who hurt you?

Kate hesitated, he could guess it was, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"Sorry Kate, it's not my business..."

"It's fine..."

There was a pause in the conversation.

"Ah so now you guys are friends?"

Kate nodded. Ben reached out and held her hand.

"Kate, it's fine! Look, it might have been an issue when we were teenagers and insecure but we're adults and you're being honest with me... as long as you're okay with all of this then I am too..."

Kate smiled, it was nice not to have drama and no secrets. He squeezed Kate hand and indicated back out on to the road.

They pulled up in front of Mike and Emily's house. Kate went to get out of the car but Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her back in, he had a serious look on his face.

"Just tell me one thing..."

Kate's heart started to race.

"What?"

A smirk came over his face.

"Am I at least taller than him?"

Kate took a moment to register what he said, she was expecting something serious, she hit him on the arm, Ben burst out laughing.

"Your face was priceless!"

Kate hit him again.

"You're the worst!"

They got out the car and knocked on the door. Mike opened the door, Ben looked him up and down, he was a good foot taller than him. Ben looked at Kate and tried to hide his laughter, Kate hit him on the arm, his laughter started her going. Mike stood there not understanding what was going on.

"Have I missed something?"

Kate shook her head and introduced them.

"Mike, this is Ben."

They shook hands and walked into his house.

Emily ran up to Kate and gave her a hug.

"Kate!"

She looked Ben up and down.

"Oh and you must be Ben..."

She nodded with approval.

"Good work Dutchy! Anyway! Come out to the deck! Dinner's nearly ready!"

They sat out on the deck, Ben talked about his Army career and swapped tough guy stories with Mike. Emily nudged Kate and leaned towards her.

"He's great! And you could totally stare at him all day!"

She giggled and whispered.

"Yeah, he is, but I think he reminds me too much of someone..."

Emily sighed.

"Yeah, it seems that you have a "type", but just give him a chance..."

"I am! If he can survive this, he deserves a chance!"

"Did you tell him about this situation?"

Kate nodded. The guys had stopped talking and they were concentrating on the girls whispering. Ben leaned over and whispered in Kate's direction startling her.

"And what are you two whispering about?"

Kate looked a little guilty and laughed and whispered back.

"You!"

Emily laughed.

"Hey, at least she's honest!"

Ben scooted his chair towards her and wrapped his arm around her.

"Yeah, she's great!"

A week later Kate was sitting on her couch reading, it was her RDO. Her phone beeped, it was a message from Dutchy.

"Hey stranger..."

She smiled and replied.

"Hey! What's happening?"

"Not much, just seeing if you're free at some point, feels like I haven't seen you for ages..."

"Yeah, I guess that's what happens when we both get lives..."

"Dinner tonight?"

"It's a date!"

Later that night Dutchy knocked on Kate's door, she ran to the door excited to see her friend, she swung open the door and smiled.

"Hey big fella!"

They gave each other a hug, they heard footsteps behind them and separated. Kate poked her head around Dutchy, it was Ben. He approached them with an uncertain expression on his face.

"Kate? Something you forgot to tell me?"

She walked up to him and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"What are doing here?"

He glanced and Dutchy and back at her.

"Ah, I'm here hoping that I'm not discovering that you're dating other people."

Kate laughed and looked back to Dutchy.

"No... Ah, hang on, I thought you two knew each other?"

Ben shook Dutchy's hand.

"Ah, Dutchy I assume!"

"Yeah, hi Ben how are you?"

Kate was completely confused.

"I thought you guys were mates?"

Ben held Kate's hand.

"Umm, it was a friend of a friend, long story..."

Kate hit Dutchy on the chest.

"So you were going to set me up with a complete stranger? What if he was a psycho!"

Ben laughed but acted offended.

"Hey!"

Kate turned to Ben.

"Sorry Ben, no offence!"

He put his arm around her.

"Well you can make it up to me later!"

He winked at her, she whacked him on the chest. Dutchy laughed.

"She does that a lot!"

Ben nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I've noticed."

They walked into the house, Kate stood at the door.

"Great is it gonna be a gang up on Kate night?"

Dutchy got them a beer out the fridge and handed one to Ben.

"This'll be fun!"

Kate shut the door and grabbed a bottle of wine.

"I think I'll need this!"

Ben sat in the couch and wrapped his arm around her, Dutchy sat in an arm chair opposite them.

"So, you know all of each other's secrets yet?"

Kate laughed.

"I don't know what you're talking about Dylan!"

He smirked, Ben leaned toward Dutchy.

"Oh, I bet she's got some good ones..."

Kate shot him a look.

"Hey!"

Dutchy took a sip of his beer and raised his eyebrow. She laughed and chucked pillow at him and turned back to Ben.

"Don't listen to him! He's like an annoying younger brother..."

He threw it back at her and scoffed.

"Don't push your luck McGregor, I know all your dirty secrets!"

Ben smiled and opened his beer, he wasn't usually a jealous person but he felt a little intimidated by Kate and Dutchy's friendship.

Ben's phone rang, he took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID.

"Sorry, it's work..."

He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek and went into the kitchen.

Dutchy got up and sat next to Kate.

"I thought it was just gonna be us tonight..."

"Sorry, I had no idea he was coming over! I swear! Anyway what do you think?"

Dutchy shrugged.

"I don't really know him!"

Ben walked back into the room, Dutchy moved back to his chair.

"Sorry, I gotta go into work!"

Kate stood up and gave him a kiss.

"It's okay, I thought you'd be sick of me by now anyway!"

He gave her a more passionate kiss on the lips and left.

Dutchy scrunched up his face, Kate noticed his expression and started to get defensive.

"What? Don't you like him? 5 Minutes ago you were like frat brothers! Plus you said you don't even know him so how can you not like him?"

Dutchy wondered why she was getting so defensive, he took a sip of his beer.

"Yeah, I dunno..."

Kate leaned back into the couch and folded her arms.

"Could it be that he's so like you?"

Dutchy nearly spat out his mouthful of beer.

"What? He's nothing like me!"

Kate laughed.

"Okay, whatever you say! So how's things with you and Sarah?"

Dutchy shrugged.

"Ah, yeah good... nothing much really to tell..."

Kate sensed a funny tone on his voice, she didn't know whether to pry or not.

"Okay, but you guys are good?"

Dutchy smiled.

"Yeah, thanks to you!"

Dutchy's phone rang, he put his beer down and answered it.

"Oh, hey, yeah no worries... yeah I guess. What that soon? Yeah okay. Thanks. See you then!"

He sat back on the couch, Kate stared at him. He looked in her direction.

"What?"

She punched him on the shoulder.

"Ah, what was that about?"

He chucked his phone on the table.

"None of your business, nosey!"

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I'll butt out!"

She took a sip of her wine and looked at him suspiciously over her glass, Dutchy leaned against her.

"Hey, promise me something?"

She put down her glass and looked concerned.

"Sounds serious? What am I promising?"

He sat up and looked her in the eye.

"That we'll make more time for each other..."

Kate gave him a sad look.

"Dutchy I always have time for you, it's our schedules, you know that! Plus now we both have partners, it's life..."

He sighed.

"I know, maybe I should get to know him if he's sticking around...you really like him don't you?"

Kate nodded.

"I guess, it's pretty early, I mean it's hard not to compare relationships..."

Dutchy laughed.

"Yeah, tell me about it!"

"But there are reasons why those other ones don't exist anymore so I'm gonna give it my best shot. We seem to have a lot in common, he recently took an intel based job so he could concentrate on his personal life."

Dutchy smiled and put a hand on Kate's

"I'm happy if you're happy!"

She smiled.

"How bout we go on a double date sometime? I should probably get to know Sarah better too!"

He nodded.

"Yeah, I'd like that!"

His phone rang again. Kate snatched it off the table.

"Hello, Dylan Mulholland's phone, I'm sorry he's not avail... oh hi Boss... sure I'll let him know..."

She hung up the phone not looking impressed. Dutchy grabbed the phone out of her hand.

"What?"

"You've been crash sailed...you leave in 4 hours."

Dutchy rolled his eyes.

"Might have to come join you on shore soon!"

The next afternoon Kate was in Mike's office waiting for him to return from a meeting. She sat in his chair and shuffled through his messy desk.

"God Flynn! Ever heard of a filing cabinet..."

Mike walked in and cleared his throat.

"Kate?"

She held up stack of paper.

"Mike, how do you get anything done?"

Mike laughed.

"I'll have to educate you on the Flynn filing system..."

Kate rolled her eyes, she picked up a few bits of paper and glanced at them, she did a double take of one with Dutchy's name on it. Mike saw the expression on her face change, he walked over to her and glanced at the piece of paper. She looked up at him in disbelief.

"When do they get back?"

Mike looked at his watch.

"Any minute, but Kate..."

Kate ignored him and stormed out of his office and down to the dock. She stood there arms crossed waiting for the Hammersley. The boat docked and the crew started to disembark the boat. She smiled and said her hellos to her old crew, Dutchy was one of the last to disembark. He walked down with gangway and smiled as he saw Kate.

"Aww, did you miss me?"

Her expression was blank, she pulled him aside.

"Have you forgotten to tell me something?"

Dutchy pretended to think, she could tell he wasn't taking her seriously. She shoved the piece of paper against his chest. He took it from her, is face dropped when he realised what it was.

"Where did you get this?"

She put her hands on her hips.

"Seriously... that's your response? What the hell Dutchy?"

He looked around to see if anyone was listening.

"Can we talk about this later?"

She ignored him.

"I don't understand! Yesterday you said we needed to make time for each other but we can't do that if you're half way across the country!"

Dutchy attempted to put his arm around her.

"Come to my place... we can talk..."

She shrugged him off and they walked to the car.

Dutchy's house.

Kate stormed in the house, Dutchy put his bag in his room. They sat on the couch, Kate waited for him to explain.

"Well?"

Dutchy took a deep breath in.

"I applied after we got back from our holiday... You and Emily were right, I wasn't okay with going back to just friends..."

She threw her hands in the air.

"This again? We discussed this, anyway you're with Sarah now, why didn't you cancel it...Dylan, you said you guys were good."

He sighed.

"We are, but you and me, we're different..."

Dutchy put his hand on hers, she looked down.

"Dylan, I am with Ben and..."

He interrupted.

"Do you love him?"

She got off the couch and started to pace.

"That's ridiculous, we've only been going out for a fortnight, how can I know..."

Dutchy got up and stood in front of her making her stand still.

"You said you knew you loved Mike instantly..."

Kate cursed Dutchy's good memory, she glared at him.

"Every relationship is different Dylan, I just don't understand, you've lied to me all this time? And what about Sarah? You've just pretended?"

Dutchy exhaled loudly and reached out to touch her hand.

"We are okay, she's agreed come with me. But I couldn't leave without knowing..."

She snatched her arm out of his grip.

"What does it matter now anyway? You made your decision to run away..."

She turned to walk away from him, he grasped her arm harder, pulling her back. He looked into her eyes and swallowed hard.

"Not if you ask me to stay..."

Kate stepped back, she couldn't believe this was happening, hours ago they were fine, they were moving on, why did he have to do this? She didn't really know how she felt. Dutchy stepped closer, she desperately wanted to pull away but couldn't.

"Kate, you said that Mike never said that he loved you. I'm prepared to say it right now if you let me..."

Kate put her head in her hands and whispered.

"Please don't..."

Dutchy moved her hands away uncovering her face, she looked up at him with a distressed expression, he gently placed a hand on her cheek.

"Don't say it because you don't feel the same way or don't say it because you do?"

End Chapter 7.

Please let me know what you think! (or just tell me how much you hate me for leaving it here) xx


	8. Chapter 8

Hey Peeps!

Sorry it's taken so long, I've been in Melbourne for 4 days without my computer. I only landed 2 hours ago and have been frantically trying to finish this chapter.

Loving the feedback that is coming though, I'm really enjoying writing this fic so I hope you're enjoying reading it.

Super excited to see more fics appearing regularly, there's only so many times I can watch re runs so loving seeing new stories/situations.

I have actually started a new fic while I was away and I'm a bit stuck and need some ideas on how to reconcile an issue, please PM me if you think you might be able to help out lol. I don't really want to give away the story line but we'll see.

Anyway, the real reason we're here...

From Chapter 7

"Kate, you said that Mike never said that he loved you. I'm prepared to say it right now if you let me..."

Kate put her head in her hands and whispered.

"Please don't..."

Dutchy moved her hands away uncovering her face, she looked up at him with a distressed expression, he gently placed a hand on her cheek.

"Don't say it because you don't feel the same way or don't say it because you do?"

20 Questions

Chapter 8

Kate looked into his eyes, they were begging for her to answer. She could feel her heart beat fast and faster, she took a deep breath in trying to work up the courage to respond. She tried to move her mouth but nothing came out, so instead she ran.

She jumped in her car and drove, she didn't know where to go so she just headed in one direction and ended up at the beach.

She got out the car and plonked herself on the dunes, she looked out over the ocean trying to clear her head. She closed her eyes, _just breathe Kate_ , you can deal with this. Tears started to stream down her cheeks, her phone rang making her jump, it was Ben. She thought about not answering it but it wasn't his fault things were so messed up, she wiped the tears away from her face and cleared her throat trying to sound more composed.

"Hi Ben..."

"Kate, I just called your office, they said you'd left for the day?"

"Yeah, just having one of those days..."

"Where are you? What's that noise..."

"Oh, I'm just at the beach clearing my head..."

"Umm, not to add to rough day you're having but I need to have a chat with you..."

She detected a strange tone in his voice and sighed.

"Sure, meet me at my house in 15..."

Kate hung up the phone and sat there for a minute, she wondered if her good relationship karma had flipped. She got up and drove back to her house and found Ben waiting on her door step. She took a deep breath in and got out the car, she forced a smile, he gave her a hug and a kiss.

"You okay? You didn't sound to flash on the phone..."

Kate shrugged.

"I guess it depends what you need to talk to me about..."

Ben wrapped his arm around her.

"The pressures on now!"

They walked into her house and sat on the couch, Ben could tell that something was wrong.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Ben, please just tell me what's going on..."

Ben placed his hand on hers.

"So, I know we haven't been going out long, well hardly any time actually..."

Kate held her breath, she thought she knew what was coming.

"Ben, please!"

Ben laughed.

"Okay, straight to the point, I get it... So you know that I have this intel job now."

Kate nodded, this was going to be bad, she wasn't able to make eye contact.

"I've been offered a promotion in Sydney..."

He lifted her chin with his index finger.

"I want to know if you'll come with me..."

She looked at him completely confused, she wasn't expecting him ask that.

"I know they have a base there, you could get a transfer. I know this is a huge ask and this may sound crazy but I feel like we could really go somewhere..."

Kate sat there in disbelief, this was not where she saw this conversation heading.

"Kate?"

She snapped back to reality.

"Sorry Ben, it's just, this is a lot."

"I know, I just wanted you to know how I feel...look, no pressure and I know how that sounds, it's like someone telling you to relax, but I mean it. I totally understand if you think it's nuts and it's a no but I had to ask. I have to leave in a week but if you need to think about it I understand."

Kate was so overwhelmed that she burst into tears. Here was a great guy who was uncomplicated and honest wanting to talk about their future and yet she wasn't jumping for joy. They had so much in common and he was so sweet, what was wrong with her? Why wasn't she ecstatic that he asked her to go? What was keeping her here?

Ben gave her a hug, concerned about her lack of reaction.

"Kate?"

She wiped the tears from her face.

"It's okay, I'm just having that kind of a day, please just ignore me..."

Ben wasn't sure what to do, he didn't want to put more pressure on her. He rubbed her back to try and comfort her, she smiled though her confusion.

"Ben, it's very sweet of you. I will need to think about it..."

He looked slightly disappointed that she didn't seem more excited, she squeezed his hand.

"But I will think about it..."

He out on a smile and gave her a kiss.

"I have to go back in, I just wanted to let you know ASAP and to give you as much time as possible to think and take as much time as you want. You don't have to come straight away, you could come in 3 months, 6 months..."

Kate smiled and squeezed his hand.

"I get it! And thanks..."

She gave him a kiss as he got up and left. Kate sat on the couch and hugged a pillow, she had no idea what she was going to do. She picked up her phone and messaged Emily.

"Hey, need your help, come round when you can..."

She replied straight away.

"Be there in 10..."

Emily barged through the door and found Kate in a ball on the couch.

"Kate? What's happening?"

She ran to her and sat next to her and gave her a hug, Kate lifted her head from the pillow.

"Dutchy said he loved me..."

Emily jumped off the couch and screamed.

"What? What did you say?"

Kate sat up and rubbed her face.

"Ah, well actually he said he would tell me he loved me if I wanted him to but I told him not too..."

She hit Kate with a pillow.

"Kate..."

Kate covered her face with her hands.

"He's leaving Em, he applied for a transfer after we got back from holidays. He said that he couldn't deal being here feeling the way he did."

Emily looked confused.

"But wait, I thought he was back with Sarah?"

Kate shrugged and looked just as confused as Emily did.

"I know, I don't get it!"

"Is she going with him?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, well he said he asked her too and she said yes..."

Emily wasn't impressed, she frowned at the thought.

"That's so not right! Kate, you know I'm on the Dutchy train but that's messed up! How can he do that to you? Especially when he had already asked her..."

Kate leaned her head on Emily's shoulder, she didn't have an answer. She exhaled loudly.

"That's not all..."

Emily sat up and shook her head and laughed.

"Seriously?"

Kate let out a half hearted laugh.

"Ben is moving to Sydney and he asked me to go with him..."

Emily's mind was about to explode, her expression was priceless.

"What did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it..."

Emily stared at Kate for a moment, she didn't envy her situation.

"Kate, I don't even know what to say... I mean, do you have feelings for Dutchy?"

She sat up and crossed her legs on the couch.

"Em, we've been through this!"

Kate met Emily's concerned eyes.

"Okay so what about Ben, would you move for him? do you love him?"

Kate leaned her head back on to the couch.

"Oh my god, Dutchy asked me the same thing, I mean I could, I don't know! This is what I get for complaining about potentially being a spinster, 2 complicated relationships..."

Emily scoffed.

"Yeah, when it rains it pours. Have you talked to Mike?"

Kate looked up at her confused.

"Why would I do that?"

"Well, if you were going with Ben you'll need a transfer..."

Kate put her head in her hands.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do, the more I think about it the more I get confused. Decide for me Em!"

Emily nudged Kate's shoulder.

"haha, no! So, when's Dutchy leaving?"

She shrugged.

"I dunno, I stormed out..."

"Kate, can you really just let Dutchy go?"

Kate looked at Emily bewildered.

"I have to! You're the one who told me I had to!"

Emily gave her a disapproving look, Kate closed her eyes.

"Sorry Em, I know this not your fault. Ah, I just hate this! Maybe this is best, he gets a fresh start with her and maybe I should have a fresh start with Ben..."

"If that's what you really want..."

There was a pause in the conversation, Emily held Kate's hands.

"Okay, I'm gonna say one thing and this is going to sound super selfish but... don't leave me!"

Kate laughed, Emily hugged her.

"Look Kate, maybe you should talk to Mike and see what your options are, I mean if there are no positions and it's too hard it might make your decision easier?"

Kate smiled, she was so thankful to have Emily in her life.

"Thanks Em, do you think he's still in the office?"

Emily laughed.

"Yeah, he was embarrassed about you calling him out on his filling, he's there sorting it now! C'mon I'll drive you in."

Navcom.

Emily walked Kate in, she left them to speak in private. Kate knocked on his office door.

"Mike?"

She walked into his office, he was standing at the filing cabinet trying to shove files into it that obviously wouldn't fit.

"Come to impart your organisational skills on me have you?"

He laughed and looked over in her direction and could see there was something wrong. He shut the cabinet immediately and ushered her into the office.

"Kate? Is everything okay?"

Kate walked over to his desk and sat, he sat next to her.

"What's the matter?"

She took a deep breath in.

"I want to talk to you about a transfer?"

Mike didn't really know what to say, he thought everything was fine.

"Can I ask why?"

Kate brought her eyes up to meet his.

"Ben has offered a promotion in Sydney and he asked me to go with him..."

Mike was a little shocked that she was considering it, he tried not to pass judgement. Under normal circumstances he thought that there was no way that she would go, there must have been other things happening to make her want to go. He didn't want to pry, he could already tell she was struggling.

"Okay, I'll check it out for you, I'll give you a call later..."

She smiled and stood up.

"Thanks Mike..."

She headed for the door, he stood up and followed her.

"Kate?"

She turned hoping he wasn't going to ask more questions.

"Yeah?"

He smiled.

"You'll make the right decision..."

She forced a smile and left. Emily was sitting in the main office waiting for her, she jumped up as she saw her.

"All good?"

She shrugged, Emily wrapped her arm around her and walked her out of Navcom.

"C'mon, you're coming home with me..."

They sat on the couch with a glass of wine, Kate phone's beeped, it was 2Dads, she sighed. She read the message and took a big gulp of her wine.

"He leaves tomorrow..."

"Was that him?"

She shook her head.

"Nah, 2Dads has arranged farewell drinks at the pub tonight. Maybe we can try and sort stuff out before he goes, I don't want him to leave like this."

Emily smiled and stood up and reached for Kate's hand.

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up!"

Kate laughed.

"Thanks, is that a nice way of saying I look like crap?"

Her phone rang, it was Mike.

"Hi Mike, oh, yeah okay... that simple huh? Can you give me tonight? Thanks..."

Kate hung up the phone.

"Well, there's a position in Sydney for me, there's actually someone looking to move up here, it'd just be a simple swap."

Emily was confused about her tone, she didn't sound enthusiastic.

"Okay, so you're going?"

Kate forced a smile.

"Yeah, I guess so, I leave in a week..."

Emily got out her phone, Kate looked confused.

"What are you doing?"

"Well it's easier to have a joint farewell while everyone is here right? Go get ready, I'll sort everything out."

Kate went to object, Emily gave her a stern look.

"Kate, you're not pulling a Mike and just leaving..."

Kate stood there lost for words, Emily laughed.

"Yeah, I went there! That's how serious I am!"

An hour later they arrived at the pub, Kate wasn't sure what Dutchy's reaction was going to be.

She snuck in but her old crew saw her, they gathered around her. 2Dads put his arm around her.

"What is going on? Dutchy's leaving, you're leaving? What, you spent so much time together now you have to move to different states cos you're actually in love with each other?"

Kate looked mortified, 2 Dads saw her reaction and laughed.

"It's a joke Kate!"

Kate laughed nervously.

"Oh."

2Dads handed her a drink.

"So I hear that you've forgotten how we do things round here. I hope you haven't lost your tolerance hanging out with all those stuffy Navcom guys..."

Kate scoffed and took the drink.

"Yeah right, it's just like riding a bike right?"

2 Dads laughed.

"Yeah, a drunk bike..."

Kate downed the drink and grabbed a shot off the table.

"Let's do this!"

Emily grabbed Kate's arm.

"You okay?"

She swallowed the shot and smiled.

"Yeah, I just wanna have a good night and say goodbye to my friends and forget all the bloody drama!"

She handed Emily a shot, Emily smiled and swallowed it. Dutchy walked in greeting everyone, he stopped when he saw Kate. She took another shot off the bar and swallowed it. Emily walked over to Dutchy and gave him a hug, he looked over towards Kate again, she gave him a sympathetic look.

"Dutchy..."

He shook his head.

"Don't Em, I gotta use the bathroom."

Dutchy walked off to the toilet. Emily stood there for a moment and frowned, she followed him. She stormed into the men's toilets, Dutchy was startled and zipped his zipper back up.

"Emily, what the hell?!"

She locked the door.

"What game do you think you're playing at Dutchy?"

He spun round with an angry expression on his face.

"What are you talking about?"

She stormed up to him and stood in his personal space.

"You transfer because you're in love with her and then you ask Sarah to go with you? Talk about mixed messages."

Dutchy dropped his head.

"I had to know once and for all Em, if she loved me then she would have let me say it. I've done all that I can without looking like a desperate loser."

He started to get irritated and raised his voice.

"Anyway, why is this my fault? She's the one that doesn't love me!"

She put her hands on her hips.

"What have you done that's any different to Mike?"

Dutchy was taken aback that she brought up Kate and Mike, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I know that it sounds weird me talking about this but of course she's scared!"

He threw his hands in the air out of frustration.

"Em, I asked her if she wanted me to say it, I told her that if she asked me to stay I would stay."

Emily rolled her eyes and let out a huff.

"That's exactly the problem! God, do you not know anything about her? Sure, she's a strong independent woman but she had a venerable side but you don't corner someone like her and ask her if it's okay to say that you love her! She doesn't want someone to ask her, she just wants someone to do it. If you ask her it's like you're not sure!

Dutchy punched the wall, he was mad that she was bringing it up, she knew how he felt, why was he was acting like it was his fault? He let out an annoyed grunt.

"Why is this so infuriating..."

She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Because you love her and not Sarah!"

He spun round to confront her, but he didn't get a chance to deny it as someone pounded on the door.

"Hey! Who locked this! Open up!"

Emily moved closer and calmed herself.

"This is your last chance! She's moving to Sydney with Ben."

"What?"

She headed for the door and turned.

"Mike approved the transfer today."

She unlocked the door and walked out. The guys had lined up outside and looked confused when Emily walked out of the men's toilets.

Dutchy walked out of the bathroom and back into the pub, he spotted Kate. He sighed and headed overt to the bar where she was standing, maybe he could try and talk to her again. He leaned against the bar and forced a smie.

"You came..."

She smiled and took another sip of her drink.

"Of course, it's my farewell too..."

He tried to push the hurt way down but he couldn't, he felt the disappointment bubble up, she handed him another shot.

"I can't believe you're leaving tomorrow..."

He took the shot, he couldn't do it. He couldn't put his heart on the line anymore than he already had, he had been rejected twice, that was enough.

"Yep, we'll you made that decision a whole lot easier..."

He gave her a dirty look and walked off. Emily noticed their cold interaction and walked over to Kate.

"Well..."

She shook her head.

"He hates me..."

Emily gave her a hug.

"No Kate, I think it's the opposite..."

They watched as Dutchy mucked around with his former crew. Emily gave Kate a hug.

"I'm sorry, I want to be here to support you but I can't watch you two, plus this is your night with your crew. Call me later okay?"

Later that night Kate sat on the couch in the corner by herself. She was about 8 shots in and trying to forget about her ruined friendship. 2Dads approached with another drink.

"Hey, what happened to your bike? Why are you over here like a loner..."

Kate forced a smile.

"I crashed it..."

2Dads laughed and handed her a drink and sat down next to her.

"Well if you've already crashed another one won't hurt..."

He watched her as she sipped on her drink noticing her strange behaviour.

"You okay?"

She sighed.

"Am I really that obvious?"

"Ah, kind of..."

He looked over to Dutchy.

"You're gonna miss him aren't you?"

She looked over in his direction avoiding the question.

"When did he tell you he was leaving?"

"Ah he found out a couple of days ago..."

Kate continued to stare.

"Right..."

2Dads shuffled awkwardly in his seat.

"He told you didn't he?"

Kate spun round and looked at 2Dads suspiciously, he smiled.

"It's okay, I'm not gonna say anything... I umm actually tried to talk him out of it, not that I don't support it it's just that it's complicated right?"

Kate laughed.

"You know 2Dads, you're more perceptive that I gave you credit for! It doesn't matter anyway, he's getting a fresh start with a nice girl and I'm gonna do the same..."

2Dads raised an eyebrow, Kate rolled her eyes.

"Not with a girl, with Ben!"

He laughed.

"Just make up before he leaves... you'll regret it if you don't..."

Kate finished off her drink, in what world was she taking life advice from 2Dads?

"I'm pretty sure he's going by himself tomorrow, Sarah isn't flying up for a week or two so go to the airport, talk to him..."

She wanted to but didn't know if she could.

"Thanks for your words of wisdom 2Dads!"

He winked at her and walked off. Kate stumbled over to the bar to order another drink, she looked over towards Dutchy, she saw 2Dads whisper in his ear, he turned and glanced at her, she immediately turned away.

45 minutes later Ben came running into the pub, he saw Dutchy and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I just got this strange message from Kate, where is she?"

Dutchy pointed to the bar, Kate was sprawled over the bar talking to the bar tender. Ben shook his head slightly.

"Did something happen? I didn't think she was a huge drinker..."

Dutchy looked at him uncomfortably.

"Ah, maybe you should just talk to her..."

Ben ran over to her side.

"Kate? Are you okay?"

She spun round on the chair like a child, she was obviously drunk.

"Ben! Welcome to my farewell!"

He tilted his head with confusion.

"What?"

She put on a large grin that was obviously unnatural.

"I'm coming with you! It was finalised today!"

Ben sat down next to her and smiled, he couldn't help but feel she wasn't drinking to celebrate.

"Kate, that's amazing, but I'm concerned, are you okay?"

She took another sip of her drink.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

"Ah why don't I get you home?"

She shook her head and ordered another drink, Ben stared at the bar tender and shook his head. She hit him on the arm.

"Hey! We're celebrating, I'm leaving, Dutchy's leaving..."

Ben looked around at the rest of the crew who were in a group on the other side of the room.

"Well it seems you're having your own party..."

He grabbed her arm.

"C'mon Kate..."

She snatched her arm back.

"No!"

Dutchy walked over, he could tell Ben was having trouble.

"Kate, I think you should listen to him..."

Kate stood up swaying.

"You! Why should I listen to you?'

Dutchy reached out to steady her, she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me..."

Dutchy felt a little guilty, he knew that his snarky comment from earlier had probably prompted her binge drinking. He lowered his voice and gave her an apologetic look.

"Kate..."

"No! Why should I listen to you? You're a liar!"

He reached out again to try and console her, she reacted without thinking and slapped him across the face. Everyone in the pub stopped at stared at her. She had realised what she had done and dropped her head and walked towards the door, Ben ran after her completely confused.

Ben drove her home, by the time they had got there she was nearly passed out. He walked her in to the house and he helped her into bed and placed a bucket beside her.

"Kate, I've put a bucket on the floor just in case..."

She lay in bed and smiled.

"Thanks!"

He looked at her and sat on the edge of the bed, she was starting to close her eyes.

"Kate?"

She rolled over trying to keep her eyes open.

"Mmm?"

"Why did you slap Dutchy?"

Kate turned on her side and hugged her pillow.

"He lied to me!"

"What about?"

"He promised..."

She drifted off the sleep, Ben swallowed hard and nudged her a little.

"Promised what Kate?"

She still had her eyes closed.

"He promised that he'd never leave me..."

She snuggled further in to the pillow, Ben sighed and pushed the hair away from her face.

"Kate, are you in love with him?"

She didn't respond, he gently nudged her again.

"Kate?"

She lifted her head slightly, her eyes still closed.

"Dutchy?"

Ben tucked her in and went and sat on the lounge.

The next morning Kate awake with a thumping headache, she rolled out of bed and tripped over the bucket.

"Damn it! Where did that come from?"

She continued to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. She took some pain killers out of her drawer and swallowed them. She walked into the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee, she stood there rubbing her head, her memory was fuzzy and she didn't remember how she got home.

She walked into the lounge and sat on the couch, she put her cup on the table. She noticed a piece of paper under her cup, she picked it up and opened it.

"Kate,

Dutchy called me to come and get you last night, you were in quite a state. I'm not sure what is going on but it's clear that Dutchy leaving has stirred up some feelings. I don't want to complicate things or get in the middle of something, maybe some time a part will help? I care about you a lot, enough to let you go...

Love Ben."

Kate sighed and sat back on the couch.

"Damn it!"

She picked up her phone and call him, he didn't answer. She left a voice mail.

"Ben, it's Kate, I got your note. Can we talk please, I'll be home today, come round.

An hour or so later Ben knocked opened the door.

"Kate?"

She leapt off the couch to greet him.

"Ben! I'm so sorry about last night..."

They sat down on the couch.

"You haven't to know Dutchy and I are just friends..."

He knew that, he knew she wasn't the type to cheat but he could see that they had something.

"Kate, you know how I feel about you, I'm not accusing you of anything but I think that maybe you need some time to think. If you were excited to move then I would have been the first person you would have told."

She hesitated, he had a point.

"Ben, there's nothing..."

He squeezed her hand.

"It's okay Kate, I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen, but I can't be in the middle of this."

He got up and kissed her on the head.

"You have my number..."

He walked out the door, Kate just sat there frozen, she didn't go after him. She wasn't sure why but he knew she wouldn't.

Later that day the crew had come to see Dutchy off at the airport. They all gave him hugs and said their goodbyes and left. 2Dads was the last one to leave, Dutchy looked around the airport, 2Dads patted him on the shoulder.

"I don't think she's coming mate..."

An announcement came over the PA.

"This is the final call for VA flight 405 to Geelong."

He picked up his bag and headed for the gate, he handed the attendant his ticket and turned around one last time. 2Dads smiled and waved, he could see Dutchy's heart slowly break. Dutchy sighed and took a step towards the aerobridge, 2Dads watched as he paused for a second, he thought he might have changed his mind. He was about to approach him but he continued onto the plane.

End Chapter 8.

Don't forget to Review, pretty please! Xx


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone,

Hope you've all had a good week! I'm starting my weekend with a new chapter. Hubby was out tonight so house to myself, glass of wine and peace and quiet to write the next chapter.

Thanks to my loyal reviewers! Keep them coming!

From Chapter 8

Later that day the crew had come to see Dutchy off at the airport. They all gave him hugs and said their goodbyes and left. 2Dads was the last one to leave, Dutchy looked around the airport, 2Dads patted him on the shoulder.

"I don't think she's coming mate..."

An announcement came over the PA.

"This is the final call for VA flight 405 to Geelong."

He picked up his bag and headed for the gate, he handed the attendant his ticket and turned around one last time. 2Dads smiled and waved, he could see Dutchy's heart slowly break. Dutchy sighed and took a step towards the aero bridge, 2Dads watched as he paused for a second, he thought he might have changed his mind. He was about to approach him but he continued onto the plane.

20 Questions

Chapter 9

A few weeks later Kate's life was back to her usual routine, she had been able to cancel the transfer much to the other candidate's dismay. Mike handled most of it and tried to keep her out of it, Emily had obviously told him what was going on but he had pretended not to know, it was just easier.

She avoided discussing Dutchy with anyone and dodged questions on whether she had spoken to him from the crew.

She eventually remembered what had happened the night Ben brought her home from their farewell, she wondered whether subconsciously she did it on purpose because she knew it would never work, or worse, she did it because she really did love Dutchy. She never told anyone what had happened, even Emily. Every time Emily brought it up she shut it down, she was too scared that she let the best thing that ever happened to her leave and be with someone else. She also had to deal with the guilt of how things ended with Ben, he didn't deserve it, she had sent him a message apologising again and wished him well. He replied saying he understood and if she was ever in town that he would love to catch up. She knew he was just being polite. She decided to throw herself in to her work instead of worrying about having a personal life, it was a lot easier.

Kate sat at her desk completing her reports, Mike knocked on the door and poked his head in.

"Kate?"

She looked up from her paperwork and smiled.

"Boss, what can I do for you?"

Mike entered her office and sat opposite her.

"How are you?"

Kate looked up at him and frowned, she hated that question. It always caused problems and whenever someone asked it she felt like they already knew the answer.

"Ah, good..."

She continued on with her paperwork, she could feel Mike's gaze on her, she looked up him suspiciously.

"Mike?"

He smiled trying to reassure her.

"How are you enjoying your position here Kate?"

Kate dropped her pen and gave Mike her full attention, something was wrong, she could read him like a book.

"It's fine, it's not like it's new..."

He nodded and fiddled with her name plate, she folded her arms over her chest.

"Mike, what are you getting at?"

Mike laughed to himself.

"I could never get anything past you Kate... So, Commander Riley..."

Kate rolled her eyes in disgust.

"What about him? Did he get stuck with another female XO?"

Mike tried to hide his amusement.

"Ah no, he's going into early retirement..."

Kate shrugged and continued with her paperwork, she didn't really care.

"Not the worst news I've heard this month..."

Mike leaned in across the desk.

"Right, well that means there's a CO position up for grabs..."

Kate continued filling out the paperwork, she didn't really understand what he was getting at.

"Right, so you want me to find a suitable candidate?"

Mike paused for a moment, she looked up annoyed, she wasn't in the mood for cryptic conversations, she just wanted to finish her paperwork in peace.

"Mike, what are you getting at? I've got work to do!"

He could see she was getting frustrated, he almost whispered.

"Ah well, I was actually thinking about offering it to you."

Kate put her pen down and titled her head at Mike.

"Why would you do that?"

Mike broke eye contact and picked up the photo frame on her desk.

"Aww, look at us..."

Kate knew he didn't want to explain.

"Mike!"

Mike out the picture down and sighed.

"Well, I know you took this job to concentrate on your personal life and I noticed recently that you have been at work more than at home and..."

Kate sat back in her chair and interrupted him, she gave him a questioning look.

"*You* noticed?"

Mike laughed, he knew she would question him on that point.

"Okay, Emily noticed and had a go at me cos she thought I was working you too hard."

Kate let out a laugh.

"God I love that girl."

"Anyway, is it something you would consider?"

Kate sat there thinking, maybe she was destined to be a single Navy Captain, she had tried to have a personal life and it blew up in her face.

"When do I start?"

Mike was surprised that she agreed so easily.

"Are you sure?"

Kate scrunched up her face confused.

"Hang on didn't you just offer me the job?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't sure if you'd take it, but it's yours, you sail in 2 days."

"You'll be okay here?"

He nodded and got up.

"Yeah, don't worry about me, I'm actually more worried about you!"

She let out a frustrated huff and picked up her pen.

"Mike, I'm fine!"

He hovered at her desk for a minute.

"Ah, have you heard from Dutchy?"

Kate immediately tried to busy herself, she shuffled through the paperwork.

"Ah, no. He's got his own life, I think he made it pretty clear that he didn't want anything to do with me..."

Mike knew that wasn't true.

"Kate..."

Kate waived her hand in the air to dismiss him.

"Mike, don't start, he ran away..."

Kate paused and noticed the pattern.

"Sounds familiar doesn't it?"

She looked up and gave him an icy look.

Mike shook his head, he wasn't impressed with her comment and he wasn't going to let her get away with it.

"If you keep pushing people away you..."

Kate knew she had crossed the line, she put her hands up in defence.

"Sorry Mike, please..."

Mike knew that pushing further wasn't going to help anyone one.

"Okay, well umm I'll submit the paperwork and make the announcement!"

She nodded and didn't look up, Mike left the office.

That night Kate sat in her lounge room contemplating her decision, going back out to sea meant she was giving up her dream of a family. Her heart skipped a beat and for a second and she considered undoing it all but before she could think any more there was a knock at the door, she called out.

"Who is it!?"

There was no answer, she got up and cautiously opened the door.

2Dads barged through the door with a bottle of Vodka.

"Commander! Did you think you'd be able get away without celebrating?"

Kate rolled her eyes, the rest of the crew entered her house giving her hugs and congratulating her.

Dutchy and Sarah's house.

Dutchy was sitting on the couch with Sarah cuddled up beside him, his phone rang.

"Dylan Mulholland... oh hi Sir, yeah okay... no worries, unavoidable...thanks, see you soon!"

Sarah looked up at him with an irritated look.

"Don't tell me..."

He started to get off the couch.

"I'm sorry babe..."

Sarah sat up and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Seriously?"

Dutchy tried not to sound annoyed, he knew it frustrated her but she should know by now that this was his life.

"Sarah, you know what work is like..."

She sighed.

"I know but it just feels like we've spend no time together since we moved here..."

"What do you want me to say? There's nothing I can do..."

She jumped up excitedly.

"How about we take a holiday?"

"I can't right now... I've just been posted here I can't ask for time off..."

Sarah rolled her eyes and went into the bedroom and slammed the door. Dutchy sighed and grabbed his bag from the laundry and packed his things.

He sheepishly knocked on the bedroom door and entered, Sarah was lying on the bed playing on her phone, she ignored him. He sat on the bed and looked at her.

"Please don't be mad, I have to go, it's my job."

She put her phone down.

"I know, it just feels like we don't get any time together..."

He sat down next to her and rubbed her leg.

"Well, hopefully this won't be long and when I get back we can do a date night anything you want!"

She smiled and sat up next to him.

"I just get so upset because I love you Dylan..."

He hesitated then smiled and kissed her on the head.

"Love you too...I'll see you soon."

Back at Kate's house the party was in full swing, Swain wrapped his arm around Kate.

"We're so glad to have you back!"

She smiled grateful to still have most of her old crew.

"I can't believe you're all still on the Hammersley!"

He squeezed her shoulder a little.

"Yeah, we gotta stick together, Mike left, then you, then Dutchy..."

"Yeah, I guess... so where's the X? I don't think I've actually met him officially."

Swain took a sip of his drink.

"Ah, well Riley brought him in when you left and he wasn't too happy about him leaving so I think he's asked to be transferred back."

Kate gave Swain a disapproving look, Swain put his hands up in defence.

"Hey! Don't look at us, we were nothing but pleasant! They had their own little thing and we were left on the outer!"

Kate couldn't judge, she had left because of Riley, Swain handed her another drink.

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure Mike is trying to sort it out as we speak."

2Dads stumbled over to Kate.

"You could always promote me?"

Kate laughed, he looked offended, she patted him on the back.

"One day..."

There was a knock at Kate's door, she called out for them to come in.

Emily and Mike walked through the door, Emily screamed and hugged Kate.

"Congratulations!"

She stepped back and laughed.

"Actually what am I saying? You won't be here as much! What am I supposed to do?"

Mike nudged her.

"Ah, hang out with your husband!?"

She looked at him with a "don't be ridiculous" look on her face.

"Boring..."

Kate cleared her throat.

"So, I hear that we're down and XO?"

Mike smirked.

"Not anymore..."

He walked back over to the door and opened it, Pete Tomaszewski walked through the door. Smiles appeared on everyone's faces, he hugged and shook everyone's hand. He walked up to Kate and playfully punched her on her shoulder.

"Sorry to crash your party!"

She laughed pulled him in for a hug.

"Buff! Best welcoming present I could ask for..."

Emily giggled looking Pete up and down.

"Is it a requirement that all Buffers be smokin hot?"

Kate laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Yes Em, actually it's a requirement that on Hammersley *all* crew members must be smokin' hot!"

They all laughed, Mike cleared his throat.

"Ah so, I'm gonna put a dampener on the party and tell you that I need you guys to sail tomorrow morning."

The crew groaned, 2Dads gave Mike a stern look.

"C'mon Boss, send someone else!"

"Sorry 2Dads, you guys are it! So everyone go home and get a good night's sleep!"

The next morning Mike and Kate were on the dock waiting for the crew to arrive.

"So umm, you read the brief?"

Kate nodded.

"Are you prepared?"

She nodded again.

"I just want you to..."

Kate put a hand on Mike's arm.

"Mike, I'll be fine! We will be fine!"

"I know, it's just the last time we were on Samaru..."

She squeezed his arm.

"I know Mike, it will be fine!"

Mike tried to hide his concern as the crew approached.

They all saluted Mike and Kate and boarded the boat. Mike stood in front of Kate.

"Well, I'll see you in a couple of days!"

Kate boarded the boat and headed for the bridge, she sat in the captain's chair and tried to get her bearings. Being out at sea had always made her happy but it didn't feel the same, Pete walked up and stood behind her distracting her.

"It's good to be back Boss..."

Kate took a deep breath in though her nose.

"Yeah, that fresh sea air and I missed the old girl...Let's do this..."

Pete nodded.

"Captain has the ship..."

The Hammersley was steaming towards Samaru, they were about 45 minutes out, Kate stood on the bridge and addressed the crew.

"Now some of you have experienced this island before, apparently the situation isn't as bad as last time but it has potential to go pear shaped. We are just there to show a presence while there are some big wigs doing some business. We will most likely be there for 2 nights and will conduct a few patrols around the island checking for any suspicious activity. We will rotate on and off duty, the X will post a duty roster. Remember we are guests, please don't get too rowdy... I'm looking at you 2Dads..."

The crew laughed, 2Dads took a bow. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Nice to see some things never change... right back to it."

The Hammersley docked at the Samaru Islands, Kate was in her cabin, Pete knocked on the door.

"Boss?"

Kate spun round in her chair and smiled.

"Buff, Ah, I mean X, what can I do for you?"

Pete laughed.

"Yeah, I'm still not used to it either...".

He sat down next on her rack, Kate got up and sat next to him.

"I'm glad you're here though Pete..."

He broke eye contact.

"So umm, what's been happening?"

Kate shifted in the spot, she wasn't sure how much Mike had told him.

"Ah, you know, not much..."

Pete laughed and raised an eyebrow.

"Kate, you're a terrible liar, always have been..."

She playfully hit him on the arm and sighed.

"Short version, I tried to have a life and it turns out I'm not very good at it so I came back, the end."

She stood up, Pete took that as a message that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Okay, we don't have to spill secrets on the first day but if you ever wanna talk..."

Kate put a hand on his arm.

"Thanks, but anyway enough about me, what about you? What's it been? 3 or 4 years?"

Pete flexed his muscles.

"Oh you know, kicking ass and breaking hearts!"

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I believe that! So who's on duty tonight? You or me?"

He put his arm around her.

"Neither, thought we could use a bonding night!"

She looked up at him suspiciously.

"Is that code for drinking too much so I'll tell you my secrets and regret it in the morning?"

Pete laughed and put his hand on her shoulder and started to lead her out of the cabin.

"Your words not mine!"

She turned back slipping out of his grip.

"Ah, can I get changed first?"

He gave her a stern look then poked her on the shoulder.

"No piking!"

He winked at her and left.

30 minutes later Pete knocked on her door.

"Ready to go?"

She yelled out.

"Not quite! You guys go ahead! I'll be about 20!"

"You'll be in big trouble if I don't see you in 19 minutes and 56 seconds McGregor!"

He heard her laugh and left for the bar.

25 minutes later Kate was walking along to beach taking the scenic route to the bar. Her phone beeped, she took it out and laughed.

"Your time is up!"

She replied.

"I'm on my way!"

"Prove it!"

Kate took a selfie proving she was off the ship.

"Okay, hurry up!"

Kate was startled at she heard an ear piercing scream, she looked around for anyone in trouble.

"Help me!"

Kate ran towards the voice, a woman came running out from the trees.

"Hello?"

The woman was hysterical and had a few cuts and bruises on her face and arms, Kate tried to steady her.

"Ma'am, are you okay? What happened?"

The woman looked around panicked.

"She's gone..."

Kate held her by her shoulders

"Ma'am? Who's gone?"

The woman was breathing erratically, she collapsed in a heap on the ground sobbing.

"They took her! They took my baby?"

Kate knelt next to her.

"Okay, just try and breathe, my name is Kate I'm with the Royal Australian Navy... what's your name?"

"Kelly, Kelly Wilkinson..."

Kate looked around for signs of anyone.

"Okay Kelly, do you know who these men were?"

"No, I've never seen them before..."

"Where did they go?"

"Ah, into the jungle... they went that way!"

She pointed to the other side of the island.

"Okay, is there anyone staying with you?"

"My husband... he's at the pub!"

Kate got out her phone and dialled Pete's number, there was no answer. She tried 2Dads, no answer.

"C'mon guys!"

Kate looked around, she knew there wasn't much time before it was dark. She had to do something, she turned back to Kelly.

"Are you okay to go find him? My crew are there too, let them know what's happened, I'm gonna go see if I can find where they went..."

Kelly nodded and Kate helped her up. Kate ran in the directed the woman pointed. She carefully jogged through the jungle and attempted to contact Pete again, there was no answer.

"Damn it, c'mon!"

She didn't really know where she was going, she heard voices and crouched down on the jungle floor.

"Hurry up it's nearly dark!"

She hid behind a tree as she heard footsteps. She peered around the tree and saw 2 men pulling along a young girl, she was about 6. She tried to keep an eye on them, she stepped on a stick, she cringed as it made a loud noise. The men turned as they heard the stick break.

"Shh, what was that? You take the girl, I'll check no one has followed us."

Kate froze next to the tree and held her breath. She heard the footsteps get closer, she jumped as her phone rang. She struggled to get it out of her pocket, as she went to silence it she heard a gun being drawn. She turned and was met with a muzzle of a gun, she glanced up and could barely make out a face, it was too dark.

"Big mistake girly!"

He hit her across the face with the handle of the gun and she collapsed on the floor.

End of Chapter 9.

Don't forget to review! xx


	10. Chapter 10

Hey everyone,

Hope everyone's having a great Thursday, the weeks is nearly over, although I work Saturdays so really it's only Wednesday for me, sad face.

Lisa McCune's new series starts tonight so I'm celebrating with a new chapter.

Thanks to those who left reviews! Always makes me smile to hear the people are enjoying my crazy ramblings!

I've nearly finished this one and I'm a bit sad, I don't really want it to end! Lol

But I do have another one on the go, so this is my life now lol!

Anyway, on with the show, as always reviews are always appreciated!

20 Questions

Chapter 10

Pete turned round to the bar to order another drink, he glanced down at his phone sitting on the bar mat and noticed the multiple missed calls from Kate. He grabbed it and repeatedly dialled her number, there was no answer. He immediately knew something was wrong, he tried again trying to alleviate his fears, again no answer. Before he could act on his worry Kelly burst into the pub.

"Help! Please!"

Her husband ran over to her and held her in his arms.

"Kelly! Where's Grace?"

She tried to answer him through her sobs.

"She, she was taken, some men took her!"

Pete rushed over to them noticing their panic and the state that Kelly was in.

"Sir, Ma'am, are you okay? I'm Pete, I'm an officer with the Royal Australia Navy."

Pete led them to a table and sat them down, Kelly wiped the constant stream of tears from her eyes.

"Some men took my daughter... I... I don't know why... a woman came and helped me she said to come here and find her crew... are you it?"

"Did she tell you her name?"

"Ah, Kate?"

"Can you show me which way she went?"

She nodded, Pete stood up and rushed over to the crew.

"Bonding time is over, Kate's in trouble..."

The crew put down their glasses and were immediately ready for orders.

They stood at the edge of the jungle, Kelly pointed towards the north.

"She ran in there after them, I'm sorry I don't know where they came from..."

Pete looked in to the jungle, it was getting dark and the likelihood of finding them that night was fading. He turned back to the Wilkinson's trying not to make them more anxious.

"Okay, we will notify the authorities and send out some search parties, where are you staying?"

Garry pointed out to sea.

"Our yacht the "Grace Kelly" is anchored off shore..."

"Okay, probably best to head back there, we'll radio in if we find anything..."

They all headed back for the ship and got their gear. Pete addressed the crew as the put on their gear.

"Okay, Swain, 2Dads with me..."

Charge put his hand on Pete's shoulder.

"X, you can't go, if we need to sail and Kate isn't here you're in charge..."

Pete exhaled loudly, he was right.

"Okay Charge you go in my place. I want an updated every 10 minutes! I'll notify Navcom. Just keep trying her phone, we may get lucky and hear it..."

Charge, 2Dads and Swain set off, Pete went to the bridge to call Mike.

"Mike Flynn..."

"Mike, it's Pete, we have a situation..."

"What is it?"

"There's been a kidnapping on the island, we think Kate went after them, we can't raise her on the phone, I've sent a team out looking."

Mike was silent, he had a bad feeling about this operation from the beginning.

"Mike?"

"Sorry Pete, yeah just keep me updated, so you need back up?"

"Ah, I don't know yet, maybe?!"

Mike needed Pete to keep focused, Kate's life was in danger and he wasn't there to help.

"Pete, you can handle this, look, Just try and find out why they might have taken her, hopefully they're just after money and they'll give her back safe."

"What about Kate?"

"She's smart, hopefully she's just followed them and not got herself caught up in it..."

"Right Sir, I'll keep you updated..."

Mike hung up the phone and sat at his desk and put his head in his hands.

"Kate, please be okay..."

On the island 2Dads, Swain and Charge were crouched in some shrubbery trying to stay out of sight just in case. 2Dads took out his phone and dialled Kate's number.

"Okay, it's ringing...shhh!"

They heard a feint ring and ran towards it, they stopped as it got louder, Swain kicked around some leaves on the floor and bend down and picked it up.

"She must have dropped it..."

He looked around and the fading light.

"I don't think we're gonna find her in the dark..."

2Dads hit Swain on the arm.

"We can't stop looking..."

"2Dads what do you suggest we do? Stumble around in the dark? We can't see any footprints, we could be covering them up with ours. If we use flashlights we'll give away our position and they could panic."

He dropped his head disheartened, Swain pat him on the shoulder.

"We'll search first light..."

They returned to the ship and went up to the bridge, Pete was surprised to see them back.

"Did you find anything?"

Swain handed him Kate's phone.

"We found her phone but it was too dark to continue. We could be making foot prints or just going in completely the wrong direction."

Pete sighed, he didn't want to give up but he knew Swain was right.

"Okay, look if they've taken them hostage they'll make demands, they're not just going to kill hostages. Everyone get some sleep, we resume the search at first light..."

The team nodded and retired for the night. Pete sat in Kate's cabin and picked up the sat phone and called Mike.

"Pete, what's happening?"

"Mike, we found her phone but it was too dark to continue, we'll resume at first light..."

Mike sat down on the couch and sighed.

"Yeah okay, call me anytime if you find anything..."

He hung up and sat back on the couch, Emily shifted next to him sensing something was off.

"Everything okay?"

He was sure how he was going to tell Emily, he grabbed her hands and paused, Emily instantly looked concerned.

"Mike!?"

"Ah, Kate is missing..."

Emily jumped up from the couch.

"What? How?"

Mike pulled her back down to the couch.

"She was helping someone, their daughter had been taken by some men and she went after them..."

"What? Like kidnapped?"

Mike nodded, Emily was frantic.

"Well what are you doing about it? Who's out there? How are you going to find her?"

He held her hand trying to reassure her.

"We're searching Em, that's all we can really do."

"Can't you send more people out there to search?"

"Yeah, I was gonna make some calls in the morning..."

He could see Emily's mind work overtime, he hugged her trying to calm her.

"She'll be okay, I promise!"

The next day Dutchy arrived home from being crashed sailed. Sarah was pottering around the house, he swung the door open.

"I'm home!"

She ran up to him and leapt into his arms, he carried her back into the house. She kissed him as he put her down, she picked up the remote and put the TV on mute.

"I missed you!"

"You ready for date night?"

She smiled and nodded eagerly.

"I went out and bought a new dress..."

"Well, I might just have a nap, I've made reservation for 7 okay?"

Later that afternoon Dutchy was in the bathroom shaving, Sarah had got ready and was waiting in the lounge room. She stood as Dutchy entered the room.

"Wow, you look amazing!"

She smiled and twirled around.

The TV caught Dylan's eye, he peered over her shoulder and focused the news report, it was on mute but the headline on the screen read "Hostage situation on small island north of Australia"

Sarah frowned and turned off the TV.

"C'mon, no news, no work, we're going out!"

He smiled and turned off the TV and grabbed her hand.

At dinner Dutchy was distracted, he took out his phone and tried to Google the report. Sarah looked up from her dinner and frowned.

"What are you doing?"

He put his phone down realising her was being rude.

"Oh, I just wanted to see that news report, I bet the Cairns base will have to handle that..."

She rolled her eyes.

"Can't you stop thinking about the Navy for one minute?"

"Sorry, bad habits! I'm turning it off!"

He switched his phone off and put it back in his pocket, he reached over and held Sarah's hand.

"You have my full attention..."

She squeezed his hand.

"Good, so umm I did want to talk to you about something..."

"What? Sounds serious?"

"Ah, what happened between you and Kate?"

Dutchy was surprised she was asking.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you guys were connected at the hip and you haven't heard from her since we've moved here..."

Dutchy became defensive.

"How do you know I haven't talked to her?"

Sarah paused, she didn't want to upset him, not tonight but if they were going to have an honest relationship she had to know.

"Ah well, I don't know but you used to message her quite a bit, you're phone wouldn't stop buzzing and I haven't noticed it as much..."

Dutchy continued to eat his dinner and shrugged.

"Nothing happened, people drift apart...you know how it is..."

Sarah looked at him doubtfully, Dutchy raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I though you said no work talk..."

Sarah faked a smile, why could she never get him to open up?

They arrived home from dinner and sat on the couch, Dutchy undid his belt.

"I'm so full!"

He turned on the TV, Sarah straddled his lap and started to unbutton his shirt, he kissed her but then looked back at the TV. She grabbed his face making him look at her.

"Dylan!"

He picked up the remote as the news came on.

"Sorry, just..."

He moved her aside and un-muted the TV.

"Repeating, breaking news, reports that an Australian girl and a Navy Commander are being held hostage in the small island of Samaru. Seven News was sent a video from the kidnappers with their demands."

Sarah sat next to Dutchy and tried to kiss him again.

"Sarah, please just stop for a minute..."

She sat there with her arms folded with an annoyed look on her face, Dutchy looked back at the TV. She shook her head and walked into the kitchen.

"Please be advised that the following footage maybe disturbing to some viewers."

They played the video.

It focused on a man holding a knife, he was in a makeshift shelter, it was dark and dirty.

"We want you to leave our island alone, we don't want more people here! Stop the hotel and give us 5 million dollars else the child and the Navy woman die!"

The video panned to Grace tied up in the corner of the room, she was crying. Kate sat there trying to comfort her, she looked up to them with a defiant look on her face.

"This won't work! They won't give in to threats!"

He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into a chair in front of the camera, he ran the knife along her neck and down her arm.

"Maybe this will change their mind..."

He suddenly stabbed it into her thigh, she let out an ear piercing scream and tired her hardest not to cry. He whispered in her ear.

"You brought this on yourself..."

He looked into the camera.

"You have 48 hours."

Dutchy sat there staring at the TV breathing heavily, tears threatened to spill from his eyes. Sarah had walked back into the lounge room just in time to see Kate's face.

"Was that..."

Dutchy didn't respond, he stood up and got out his phone and called Mike.

Mike and Emily were also sitting on their couch in shock after seeing the footage, Emily burst into tears, Mike wrapped his arm around her as his phone rang.

"Dutchy?"

"Mike! What happened?"

"I'm assuming you saw it?"

Dutchy paced the room in a panic.

"What are you doing about it..."

"Dutchy, you know I can't say anything..."

"Or is that code for 'I haven't got a plan?'"

Mike was frustrated at his tone.

"Dutchy, we haven't heard from you in months and suddenly you..."

He looked over at Emily, she gave him a pleading look to tell him. He sighed and paused for a moment.

"Dutchy, all I know is that she tried to follow the kidnappers, we hoped she was just lying low but it seems she was discovered by them first."

"So what's gonna happen?"

"I've gotta make some calls... I'll call you back later..."

"Mike, wait..."

It was too late, he had hung up.

Dylan continued to pace the lounge room, Sarah watched him puzzled about his reaction. He went into the bedroom and started to shove some clothes into a bag, Sarah followed him into the room.

"What are you doing?"

He kept packing and barley looked up at her.

"I have to go to Cairns and help..."

"What?"

He continued to pack his bag, she walked over to Dylan and held him by his shoulders.

"There's nothing you can do!"

He shut his suit case and looked up at her

"There's gotta be something..."

He headed for the bedroom door, she grabbed his arm and gave him a disapproving look.

"She's my friend Sarah!"

Sarah's blood boiled, what did Kate have that she didn't?

"Friend? You haven't heard a peep from her since you left! At dinner you said you had drifted apart..."

He sighed.

"It doesn't mean I don't care about her..."

She threw her arms in the air out of frustration.

"I don't understand, you won't take time off to spend time with me but you're just going to leave and go to Cairns for her? How are you going to get time off?"

He stopped for a moment and gave her an unimpressed look.

"I thought you said you were over this jealousy thing..."

She let out a frustrated huff.

"Can you see why I'm not?"

He knew it wasn't really the right thing to say but he wanted to try and make Sarah see reason without making her suspicions worse.

"Sarah this is different! She's in trouble!"

She started to raise her voice.

"Yeah and the Navy in Cairns are handling it!"

Dutchy was frustrated that she refused to understand.

"Sarah! Please don't make this about you!"

She stomped her foot like a child having a tantrum.

"It's never about me Dylan! It's always been about her!?"

He picked up his bag and walked out to the lounge room and picked up his keys and wallet.

"What are you talking about! I asked you to move with me, didn't I? I told you I loved you, isn't that what you wanted?"

She grabbed his arm and spun him round.

"What do you mean that's what I wanted? You moved here to get away from her! I heard your crew mates talking, you didn't get transferred did you? You asked for this posting didn't you?"

He broke eye contact, she knew what that meant. He sighed, he didn't have a response.

"Sarah, she was the one who got us back together, look I can't discuss this now!"

He headed for the door, she yelled out after him.

"Dutchy! We *need* to discuss this now..."

Dutchy stopped at the door and turned around, she was satisfied that she was winning, she ran to his side.

"Dutchy, she's got plenty of friends in Cairns looking for her."

He put down his suitcase, she exhaled with relief and rubbed her hand up and down his arm.

"I'm sorry! I love you, please understand where I'm coming from, we need to talk about these things Dylan."

He gave her a reassuring smile and hugged her, maybe he was being irrational, he felt bad he had lied to her about the reason for the move, he wanted to do the right thing, he didn't want to hurt anyone.

"I'm sorry..."

His phone rang, he looked at the caller ID, it was Mike, he answered immediately.

"Mike..."

"Dutchy, it's under control, we're sending back up, it's an island how far can they go right?"

Dutchy closed his eyes and hung up the phone, he could tell Mike was unsure, it was the tone in his voice. Sarah smiled and had a hopeful look on her face.

"See, Mike's it all over it right?"

He shook his head.

"I can tell that he's worried, I can hear it in his voice..."

He gave her a kiss on the forehead and picked up his suitcase, he took a deep breath in.

"Please don't hate me."

Sarah couldn't believe it, he was still going to leave, she tried one last time to make him see sense.

"Dutchy, if you go that's it, we're done."

She was shocked that the words had come out of her mouth, she tried not to look surprised and held her ground. Dutchy stopped and turned with a bewildered look on his face.

"Sarah, don't do this, don't make me do this..."

She gave him a cold stare.

"I'm not making you do anything..."

He dropped his head a little, he felt like a total asshole, he put down his suitcase once again. Kate had made it clear that they couldn't have a relationship so why was he still hanging on to hope? Why should he risk his relationship for someone who probably wouldn't do the same?

Sarah could tell he was having second thoughts, she reached out and picked up his suitcase and held out her hand.

"C'mon, I'll help you unpack."

Dutchy stood there frozen, he was torn when he knew he probably shouldn't be. He looked at Sarah's outstretched hand and then into her begging eyes, she gave him a hopeful look.

"Dutchy?"

End Chapter 10

Review to your heart's content haha xx


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone!

We're coming to the business end! In sadness I've started a few more, I'm desperately trying to write a K/M fic but it's just not happening, the more I write K/D and K/J fics the more frustrated I get that it ended the way it did lol. I know that's generally not the popular opinion sorry!

Thanks to everyone that's leaving reviews! Love you all!

Okay, I'll shh now so you can get reading.

From Chapter 10

Sarah could tell he was having second thoughts, she reached out and picked up his suitcase and held out her hand.

"C'mon, I'll help you unpack."

Dutchy stood there frozen, he was torn when he knew he probably shouldn't be. He looked at Sarah's outstretched hand and then into her begging eyes, she gave him a hopeful look.

"Dutchy?"

End Chapter 10

20 Questions

Chapter 11

The next morning most of the crew had set out to search of Kate and Grace. Pete was left on the bridge by himself, he jumped as the sat phone rang.

"Hammersley..."

"Pete, it's Mike, we're sending back up... Fleet Command haven't been able to make contact with the men but they're obviously local. I don't know if they're actually dangerous, they're probably more angry and upset that they may lose their homes. The girl's family were actually looking to live on the island and try and make it a tourist hot spot building resorts and things. The husband is some developer and obviously the locals aren't too keen on it."

"So what do they want with Kate?"

"I don't know, I think she was just in the wrong place, she's more like security, they're at least worth more alive."

"So what are they doing about the ransom?"

"A fake swap is a last resort, that's why we're sending back up. We're hoping you can find them and overpower them and get them out..."

Mike looked out his office window, there was a commotion in the main office.

"Ah, sorry Pete I'll have to call you back..."

He hung up the phone and walked out of his office, he tried to peer down the hallway without getting involved.

"What's going on?"

A staff member hurried towards Mike.

"Ah, there's a gentleman wanting to see you Sir, I told him you were very busy..."

"Who?"

He heard a familiar voice call out.

"Mike!"

He turned in the direction of the voice to see a man struggling against one of his staff.

"Dutchy?"

Mike signalled to let him through, he ran up to Mike.

"Any news?"

Mike was completely bewildered to see him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had to come! How is she? Any news?"

Mike shook his head.

"They're out searching now... I'm sending the Kingston to help them."

"What about the money?"

Mike shook his head again.

"Ah, last resort, you know they won't wanna cave to..."

Dutchy let out a frustrated huff.

"So what? We wait? You've turned into one of them Mike! This is bullshit!"

Mike was about to express his disappointment in Dutchy's comments when his phone rang.

"Pete?"

"Mike, the Wilkinson's have the money! They want to make a trade..."

"Absolutely not!"

"But it will flush them out, we could be searching for days at this rate..."

"Just keep looking..."

He hung up and went to walk off, Dutchy reached out and grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"What can I do?"

Mike didn't need this, he knew how he felt about her but they were doing all they could, he didn't need Dutchy questioning his every move.

"It's under control Dutchy, I suggest you go home..."

Dutchy tightened the grip on Mike's arm.

"No offence Mike, but it doesn't seem under control!"

Mike stepped closer to him, he didn't want to cause a scene.

"Dutchy, there are protocols we have to follow!"

Mike glanced down at Dutchy's hand on his arm, he slowly loosened his grip and dropped his head.

"I know that but I've just flown 3 different flights to get here, let me go out there."

Mike shook his head and walked off, his assistant handed him a file and he walked into his office. Dutchy followed him, he wasn't going to give up until he got his way.

"C'mon, the more experienced people out there the better!"

Mike chucked the file on his desk and spun round and gave him a disapproving look.

"Dutchy..."

He stood his ground.

"Mike, I saw the Kingston out there, they haven't sailed yet. Just give me the nod and I'll go out with them..."

Mike stared at him for a moment thinking, Dutchy stepped towards him with a desperate look on his face.

"Please, don't make me beg! I have to do something! If the CO thinks I'm too emotionally involved I'll stay on the ship, I'll be an extra pair of hands."

Mike rubbed his face and sighed, it was against his better judgement but he was a good officer, he could be of some help.

"Okay, I'll let the CO know he's gonna have an extra..."

"Thanks boss! Could you do me one more favour and not tell the CO, let him come to his own conclusions."

Mike nodded.

"Yeah, yeah hurry up they sail in 20!"

Pete sat in the Captain's chair waiting for any news.

"Sierra 82 to Charlie 82, come in, over."

Pete jumped up and grabbed the radio.

"Charlie 82 received, go ahead Swain."

"I think we've found something, there's a couple of make shift huts that are being guarded..."

"What's your location Swain?"

"Ah, we're about 9 clicks inland, north east of the village..."

"Right, how many people do you see? Can you take them?"

"Ah, there's 3 outside, I can't tell inside, we're probably in need of back up just to be safe."

"Right, the Kingston are on their way probably an hour or so, keep an eye on them, hopefully you'll get an idea of how many there are...keep me updated, Hammersley out."

Swain, 2Dads and Charge gathered around.

"Okay, we're to stay here and keep a look out, try and find out how many there are...we'll keep our distance..."

Later that afternoon the Kingston arrived at Samaru, Dutchy raced off the ship and headed to the Hammersley, he ran a board and up to the bridge. Bird was standing with Pete, she was pleasantly surprised to see him, she ran up and hugged him.

"Dutchy! We've missed you!"

He hugged her back.

"Missed you too Chicken legs!"

Pete cleared his throat, Bird realised they hadn't met before.

"Oh sorry X, this is Dutchy, he used to be our buffer..."

Pete smiled and shook his hand.

"Good to meet you mate, you were actually my replacement..."

Dutchy didn't have time for small talk.

"So what's happening with Kate?"

Pete was surprised by Dutchy's abruptness.

"Ah well, Swain just radioed and we think they've found their hide out."

Dutchy couldn't believe they hadn't done anything yet.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

Pete was annoyed with Dutchy's demands, he was being unprofessional, he should know that these things needed planning.

"Just hang on a minute Dutchy, we can't just storm in there, they could panic, do something stupid... I'll liaise with your CO and we'll get some teams together."

"Right, I'll go gather the crew..."

Dutchy nodded and headed back to the Kingston. Bird went to follow him, Pete pulled her back.

"He seems umm over sensitive..."

Bird interrupted.

"She's family, but they were close, you must know how close an X and buffer are..."

Pete nodded.

"Yeah, just seems there's a bit more to it..."

She was halfway down the stairs and turned, she felt the need to defend him, he was family after all.

"Look maybe he feels bad, he left a little while ago and maybe he still feels protective of her, he was like that..."

Bird walked down the stairs, Pete was left to ponder with his thoughts.

The radio crackled.

"Sierra 82 to Papa 82..."

"Papa 82 receiving..."

"X, there's some movement, looks like some of them are leaving...where's the Kingston? This may be our best opportunity to take them..."

"They've just arrived, I'll brief them now and send them to your location..."

30 minutes later Dutchy and 2 teams from the Kingston met Swain, Charge and 2Dads. They were all shocked to see Dutchy.

"Dutchy! What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't just sit back and do nothing! What's happening? Are they in there?"

"We haven't seen them but there's men guarding that hut..."

Swain pointed to the one on the left.

"If they're not in there there's something shady in there... 2 left before, at this point we've counted 4 others..."

Inside the hut Kate huddled in the corner with Grace, she couldn't get her to stop crying. Kate tried to reason with her captor.

"Please, you have me, let her go..."

The men ignored her, she tried to stand up. She grabbed at one of them.

"Hey! Do you understand me?"

One of the men shoved her back on the ground and dug his thumb into her thigh wound, she let out a scream.

Dutchy's breathing intensified as he heard her scream, then there was silence, a deafening silence. Dutchy was getting agitated and impatient, he turned to his former crew

"Okay, we've gotta act now...what's the plan?"

Everyone was silent, Dutchy looked at the XO of the Kingston for answers, he was the senior officer of the group.

"Okay, why don't we try and flush the others out, team alpha go make some noises and they'll come out to investigate and we can take them by surprise, meanwhile team bravo and the Hammersley crew can investigate the huts."

They all nodded and headed off. Team alpha positioned themselves within yelling distance of the guarded hut, they started yelling to try and get the kidnappers to come out. A few minutes later their plan started to work, 2 of the men came out of the hut.

Kate cautiously looked around to check how many of her captors were left in the cabin, there was only 1, he was looking out the window to check on the action outside. She looked around for any sign of a weapon, negative. There was only a chair, she carefully and quietly scooted herself closer to the chair.

She whispered into Grace's ear.

"When I say run, run for the door and run as fast as you can..."

Grace shook her head and whispered back.

"I can't..."

"You have to, please!"

Grace closed her eyes and nodded.

"Are you coming too?"

Kate nodded.

"I'll be right behind you..."

The man heard them whispering and turned back around, Kate picked up the chair and hit him over the head. She pushed Grace towards the door.

"Run, Now! Go!"

The man regained his feet and tried to stop Kate from running, grabbing her arms, she turned and kneed him in the groin and hobbled after Grace.

The Kingston and Hammersley crew were approaching the hut from the front and heard the scuffle and started to move in. By the time they had arrive Kate and Grace had escaped, Dutchy grabbed the man but his shirt front.

"Where are they?"

He didn't respond.

Dutchy threw him to the floor and ran out of the hut, team alpha from the Kingston had overpowered the other men and had them restrained and were leading them back to the hut.

Dutchy looked out into the jungle, they could be anywhere. He noticed a small set of foot prints in the dirt and started to follow them. They others were too busy to notice that Dutchy had wandered off.

Dutchy made his way through the dense jungle, he called out their names. He stopped as he head sobbing.

"Grace? It that you? Where are you? It's okay I'm a friend of Kate's."

There was no response, he stopped to try and hear the direction that the sobbing was coming from.

He approached a large tree and found Grace sitting next to Kate, she was slumped over against a trunk. He rushed to her side, Grace screamed and scurried away. Dutchy leaned down beside Kate and felt for a pulse, he sighed with relief after feeling one, it was feint but it was there.

"It's okay Grace, I'm Dutchy, I work with Kate..."

He picked Kate up in his arms.

"Please Grace... you're mum and dad are very worried, I know where they are..."

Kate started to come too, she opened her eyes and looked up and saw Dutchy's face. She closed her eyes again, she wasn't sure if her mind was paying tricks on her, either way it was too much, she had no energy to fight.

Grace slowly approached Dutchy and grabbed on to his pants pocket.

"Do you really know where my mum and dad are?"

He smiled and nodded.

"C'mon, let's go see them!"

The crew were calling out Dutchy's name, he heard them and yelled back.

"Over here!"

He made his way out of the jungle to the clearing, Swain rushed to them, he put her down on the ground so Swain could asses her. He could see she was in a bad way, he grabbed his radio.

"Sierra 82 to Papa 82, we have them, we need to get them out of here ASAP, is there a medivac available?"

"Received that Sierra 82, will see what I can do, will keep you updated with an ETA."

Dutchy grabbed Swain's arm.

"Swain, it's bad isn't it?"

He shook his head slightly, he didn't want to worry him any further.

"Ah, she needs a hospital... look, I'll check over Grace and then why don't you take Grace to her parents..."

Dutchy didn't really want to leave Kate but he knew what Swain was doing.

Grace screamed as she saw the other crew members lead the restrained kidnappers off, she hugged Dutchy, he tried to comfort her.

"It's okay, they can't hurt you anymore."

She tightened her gip around his neck.

'I want my Mummy and Daddy!"

"You'll see them soon!"

The XO from the Kingston approached them.

"Ah X, can you take Grace back to her parents?"

She clung to Dutchy.

"No, Dutchy please don't leave me..."

Dutchy looked down at Grace, she looked so frightened, he looked back at Swain assessing Kate. The Kingston crew member could see he was torn.

"C'mon Grace, my name is Alex, you can come with me..."

Dutchy sighed.

"It's okay, I'll take her...Just let the others know where I am and if anything happens to Kate can you please let me know."

He nodded.

"If you head about a K to the east we've sent a RHIB along the beach to come and collect you and take you to the wharf. Dutchy picked Grace up and carried her though the jungle.

Grace's parents were waiting eagerly at the warf, the RHIB pulled alongside a small jetty.

"Thank you so much!"

Grace hugged both of her parents, she glanced up at Dutchy.

"Where's Kate?"

He tried to reassure her.

"Ah, we're trying to get a helicopter here..."

Kelly grabbed his arm.

"We've got one, please take it! It's the least we can do..."

"Thanks! I'm gonna go get some medical supplies from the ship, can you get it ready for when they arrive..."

Dutchy ran aboard the Hammersley and radioed Swain.

"Bravo 82 to Sierra 82, I'm on the Hammersley what do you need?"

Pete came down to the ward room hearing all the commotion.

"Dutchy? What are you doing?"

Swains voice came over the radio.

"We need some gauze and bandages and a saline IV."

"Thanks Sierra 82, I'll be back in a minute."

Dutchy rummaged through the medical supplies and loaded himself up.

"Pete, we've got a chopper..."

Pete looked confused.

"What? The medivac is on it's way..."

Dutchy shook his head.

"It will take too long, The Wilkinson's have one, they said we can use it! it's ready to go now."

Pete put a hand on Dutchy's arm.

"Okay Petty Officer but after that you come back to the ship, you're too close to this..."

Dutchy gave him a slight nod.

The RHIB had been sent back for Kate and the others, they carried her out of the RHIB and to the waiting helicopter. Dutchy ran to her side and held her hand as they loaded her into the chopper, Swain lay her down on the seat and got in. Dutchy squeezed Swains arm.

"Please look after her..."

Swain he smiled.

"Get in..."

He shook his head.

"I can't, I've been ordered back to the boat."

He patted the seat.

"I need another pair of hands, someone's gotta hold the IV."

Swain smiled and winked at him, Dutchy didn't hesitate, he leapt into the chopper and shut the door.

Emily ran into Navcom and into Mike's office.

"They've found her?"

Mike stood up from his desk.

"Yeah, they're bringing her back now. Swain and Dutchy are..."

Emily froze.

"Wait, Dutchy?"

"Yeah, he just rocked up this morning demanding to go out there..."

Emily smiled, Mike look puzzled.

"What?"

She scoffed a she shook her head.

"Nothing..."

Mike hugged her.

"Ems, I know that look..."

"He still loves her..."

"Yeah, I think it's pretty obvious..."

Emily laughed.

"That bloody stupid girl... was she always this stubborn?"

Mike laughed.

"Kate? Stubborn? Never!"

"So she's okay then?"

The smile dropped off his face, Emily looked panicked.

"Mike?"

He didn't want to worry her, he decided on the diplomatic answer.

"We're getting her back home ASAP..."

Emily put her hands on her hips, she wanted the truth.

"Mike, tell me!"

He took a deep breath in.

"She'd been beaten pretty badly and she's lost a lot of blood."

Emily gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

"But she'll be okay right?"

Mike broke eye contact and put his hands on her shoulder.

"I hope so..."

The chopper had landed and met a waiting ambulance, they rushed Kate to the hospital. Mike and Emily ran into the hospital and saw Dutchy sitting in the corridor with his head in his hands. Emily called out his name, he looked in their direction and stood up. She ran up to him and hugged him, Mike headed to the nurses' station for an update.

"Dutchy! Are you okay?"

He nodded and squeezed her tight, tears ran down his cheeks as he hugged her.

"Em, she's not good!"

She held him the shoulders, her tears threatening to spill, she was trying to keep it together but seeing him cry broke her.

"She will be fine..."

They sat down next to each other, both fearing that they were both wrong. Emily reached out and squeezed his hand.

"I can't believe you're here! So umm, where's Sarah?"

Dutchy looked at his feet, he didn't want to think about the mess he had caused.

"She's back in Geelong..."

Emily didn't know whether to ask if she was coming or if she was okay with Dutchy being here. Dutchy sensed she had questions, he sighed and answered before she had to ask them.

"She said that if I left it was over..."

Emily smiled a little, she felt terrible for Sarah but she had hoped that he had finally come to terms with his feelings and it seemed that he was willing to do anything to show Kate that he loved her.

"I'm sorry Dutchy, but I'm also so proud of you..."

They sat there in silence for a minute, Emily turned to him and was about to say something but they were interrupted as Mike walked over.

"She's still being checked out, they're concerned about internal bleeding, she maybe in ICU for a bit so we'll just need to wait it out."

They both nodded, Mike could sense that Emily wanted to talk to Dutchy alone.

"Ah, do you guys want a coffee?"

They both nodded, Mike left. Emily turned her attention back to Dutchy, she sat there and stared at him, he rubbed his hands over his face trying to comprehend what had happened.

"Why was she even out there Em? I thought she was moving to Sydney with Ben?"

She sighed.

"She didn't really tell me what happened, all I know is that he went and she stayed. Whenever I brought it up she became defensive so I dropped it, I thought she might have actually called you?"

He shook his head.

"Nope..."

Emily needed to get Dutchy's head in the game, he had given up a lot to be here so he had to make it count, the first thing was getting him to admit feelings out loud.

"So umm, if you're here does that mean you still have feelings for her?"

Dutchy glanced up, Mike was standing over them with coffee.

"Oh sorry, bad timing..."

Emily looked annoyed and grabbed the coffee off of him. Dutchy saw the doctor approach and stood up.

"Doctor how is she?"

"Ah, she's alright for now, no massive bleeds, there's a couple of small ones that we'll need to keep an eye on, she's one tough woman..."

They all sighed with relief.

"But..."

Dutchy grabbed Emily's hand and squeezed it tight.

"But what?"

"Look, she's just not out of the woods yet, we've sedated her for now, just lightly. When she wakes up she'll probably be in quite a bit of pain and how she will be mentally but we don't want to overdose her with medication."

Dutchy couldn't speak, Emily could tell that he had questions but he was in shock. She cleared her throat.

"Ah so how long will she be out for?"

"Hard to say maybe a day or so, we will keep her closely monitored. There's probably no point staying here, go home and I'll call you if there's any change."

Dutchy was about to object when Emily tugged on his arm.

"Thank you doctor."

Mike patted him on the back.

"I gotta go back into the office but come and stay with us! I'll drop you guys back."

He nodded and they headed home.

Mike and Emily's house.

Dutchy and Emily sat on the couch having a drink, Dutchy took a swig of his drink and closed his eyes.

"She can't die Em..."

"Dutchy, that's not going to happen!"

She put down her drink and moved closer to him and tried to comfort him. Mike walked through the door and sat down next to Dutchy, he had a stern look on his face.

"Is there something you want to tell me Petty Officer?"

Emily looked confused about Mike's tone, she scowled at him.

"Mike!"

He looked and Emily and then Dutchy, Dutchy sighed and glanced up at him. Emily hit him on the shoulder.

"What is going on? I can't deal with any other surprises or drama today!"

Dutchy walked out to the balcony and looked out over the water, Emily glared at Mike.

"Mike, why are you being a jerk? This is the last thing he needs!"

Mike let out a huff and looked annoyed.

"He walked out..."

Emily instantly wanted to defend him, Mike didn't know the whole story and the last thing Dutchy needed was to feel judged.

"Mike, you don't understand, Sarah gave him an ultimatum..."

He interrupted.

"No Em, he left the Navy..."

Emily was completely confused.

"What?"

"They wouldn't give him the time off to come here so he quit. He lied to me, I let him go out there while he was a civilian. I should have checked but they only called me today!"

She looked out to the balcony, she had never seen him looking so lost.

"Is he going to be in trouble?"

"I'm doing what I can..."

Dutchy walked back in.

"I'm sorry Mike, I hope I don't get you into trouble, I'll take all the blame..."

"It's ok mate, we'll sort it out."

He sat back down with his head in his hands. Mike could tell Emily had more questions but he didn't want Dutchy to feel awkward about talking about his feelings for Kate in front of him.

"Ah, I'm gonna go take a shower."

Emily stood up and gave him a kiss, she sat back down next to Dutchy.

"Dutchy, I can't believe you left the Navy for her..."

He nodded, his head still in his hands.

"You said to me she didn't want me to ask for permission to tell her I love her, that she needed someone to just "do it", prove to her that she's the one. Well I did it, I left Geelong, I left Sarah and I left the Navy, all for her. I know we want the same things Em, why can't she see that?"

She sighed, she didn't have the answer.

"Well, hopefully she does. Dutchy she has to see what she means to you, I'm sure of you tell her what you've done she'll realise. You know how she is, scared but stubborn."

They both laughed, Dutchy shook his head.

"So stubborn!"

End Chapter 11.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey everyone,

So I've been home with some kind of virus which is super frustrating cos its been so nice outside but on the plus side it's given me a chance to write. So this is it, the last chapter and I'm super sad. I have just re watched season 1 in hope to try and start a K/M fic but he was just such a jerk to her in season 1 lol I skipped to season 4 but that's not helping either cos that's just egging me on to write K/D fics haha.

I think I might just do a shortish chapter/epilogue after this to tie things up.

Thanks again to everyone for the feedback! For those that are guests and love the K/D pairing you need to join, we need more of you haha, plus i can't reply to your feedback!

Okay, well let get on with it!

20 Questions

Chapter 12

The next morning Dutchy sat at Kate's bedside holding her hand, Mike and Emily watched from the doorway, she leaned against him and sighed.

"If she doesn't wake up and confess her love for him I'll kill her myself!"

Mike gave her an uneasy look, she cringed.

"Sorry, it's the way my brain is trying to deal with it!"

Mike wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the head.

They doctor came in and checked her chart, Kate started to make moaning noises. Dutchy pulled on his arm.

"Is she in pain?"

He shook his head and continued to write on her chart.

"No, it's a good sign, she responding to painful stimuli and other tests. We've started to wean her off the sedative so hopefully she'll wake up today."

He doctor left and Mike and Emily entered the room, Dutchy gave them a glance and looked back at Kate and sighed.

"She might wake up today..."

Emily smiled and stepped towards the bed, she put her hand on his shoulder.

"That's good!"

The crew had gathered around the window waiting to hear any news, Mike and Dutchy went out to speak to them. Emily sat beside her bed and sighed.

"Kate, you need to wake up and listen to Dutchy, you have no idea how much he has sacrificed for you. He loves you desperately and if you're just scared then you need to put on your big girl pants and deal with it, you hear me?"

Kate eyes began to flutter open, Emily glanced back at Dutchy and didn't notice, she continued talking.

"I have never seen someone give up so much and it's almost unbearable to watch..."

Kate tried to speak, it came out as a whisper.

"Em?"

Emily spun round and saw Kate with her eyes open, she leapt up and hugged her.

"Kate!"

She winced in pain.

"What happened? I feel like death..."

Emily grinned and pushed the call button. The doctor raced into the room, Dutchy and Mike noticed the doctor and ran to Kate's room, Dutchy hovered in the door way not knowing what her reaction would be. Kate was trying to focus on who was in the room, she looked towards the door way. The doctor ushered them out the room.

"Sorry guys, we just need a minute..."

Kate reached out and grabbed Emily's arm.

"Is that?"

Emily smiled and nodded and left.

20 minutes later the doctor exited the room and walked to the corridor where everyone was waiting. They all stood up when they saw him, Emily rushed over.

"Can we see her?"

"Only 1 of you, she's still not quite herself, 5 minutes..."

Emily looked back at Dutchy and nodded at him.

"Dutchy, you go..."

He took a deep breath in and approached her room, he stood in the door way and cleared his throat. Kate turned her head towards the door, tears welled in her eyes. Dutchy walked to her bedside and sat down, he reached out and held her hand and smiled. It took every ounce of strength not to hug her and never let her go, he didn't want to overwhelm her.

"Hi..."

Kate tried to blink away the tears.

"You're here..."

He let out a small laugh.

"You don't remember anything do you?"

She shook her head.

"I carried you out of the jungle..."

Kate sat there trying to remember, she was sure that she would remember something like that. He squeezed her hand slightly, he could tell she was trying to remember.

"It's okay, you've been through a lot..."

She continued to stare at him, Dutchy didn't know what to say, the last time they talked was his farewell. He had no idea what she was thinking in her head, he could be completely wrong about everything. His heart started to beat faster, he didn't know if he could say it. He went to speak and stopped himself, he gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm glad you're okay..."

He got up and kissed her on her forehead and left the room. The doctor re entered the room to check on her. Emily spotted Dutchy coming out the room, she ran up to him.

"Well?"

He shook his head.

"I couldn't tell her, I didn't want to freak her out or anything, she needs to recover first..."

She gave him a hug.

"We can try again later."

Dutchy stopped the doctor.

"When can we see her again?"

"Ah, maybe later tonight. Just let her get her bearings, she could start remembering things, things that weren't pleasant. Come back and see me first."

Dutchy nodded and the doctor left. Emily wrapped her arm around him.

"C'mon let's get you some food!"

For the rest of the day Kate struggled with her feelings, she had so many questions. She picked up her phone and messaged Emily. The doctor knocked on her door.

"Ms McGregor..."

"Kate is fine.."

He smiled and looked at her chart.

"How are you feeling?"

"Okay, the pain is bearable..."

"Have you remembered anything..."

She nodded.

"Right, well I want to book you an appointment to speak to someone, you have been though an ordeal..."

She nodded again.

"It might help if I can see my friends, they've been through similar things..."

He looked up from her chart.

"If you're up for it I suppose that's okay, but I still want you to speak to a professional..."

"I understand..."

He smiled and put her chart back.

"Good, I believe your friends might be back a little later...I'll let them know they're okay to visit."

5 minutes later Emily ran into Kate's room.

"I came as soon as I got your message..."

Emily gave her a bear hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay, you had us worried there for a while..."

She sat on the chair next to the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

Kate looked up at her and ignored her questions.

"When did he get here? He said he pulled me out of the jungle..."

Emily nodded, she didn't want to have to spell it out or her, she needed Kate to figure this out for herself.

"Why did he come here?"

Emily sighed.

"Kate, you should really talk to him..."

Kate didn't look impressed, she gave her a intimidating look. Emily laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Your mean CO stare won't work on me! Just talk to him! You used to be best friends! I'm messaging him now, at least he knows you can't run away..."

She grabbed the phone out of Emily's hand.

"Hey, he was the one who ran..."

She snatched it back.

"Yeah, don't bring that up!"

She got up and kissed her on the cheek.

"Be nice!"

She walked out of the room, Kate sat there with her arms folded over her chest.

An hour or so later Dutchy stood outside the hospital, he knew that he loved her but he couldn't bear if she couldn't admit her feelings. He attempted to step inside the hospital but he couldn't.

He made his way back to Mike and Emily's, Emily was surprised to see him come through the door.

"That was quick..."

He hung his head.

"I couldn't do it..."

She leapt up and punched him on the arm.

"Dutchy!"

"I keep thinking about when we were away and how easy it was for her to just shoot me down..."

"Dutchy, you have given up everything to be here! I'll drag you in there myself!"

Her phone beeped, it was Kate.

"He hasn't shown up yet..."

She showed him the message.

"C'mon, she wants to talk! I'm driving you!"

Emily walked Dutchy into the hospital and sat at in the waiting room. Dutchy approached her room, he paced outside her room for a few minutes, Kate spotted him and called out.

"I see you Dutchy!"

He poked his head into the room and smiled awkwardly, he entered the room and started to pace around, he was nervous which made Kate nervous.

"Dutchy! Sit please! You're making me dizzy!"

He sat down next to her, she glanced over to him, she was going to have to start.

"Why did you come back?"

Dutchy's eyes widened.

"Okay, straight to serious..."

"Dutchy!"

He took a deep breath in and swallowed.

"I was worried...okay my turn, what happened to you moving to Sydney with Ben?"

Kate shook her head slightly, she wasn't in the mood for games.

"This isn't 20 questions Dutchy..."

He slumped back in to the chair.

"Well it might as well be, all I've got is questions..."

Kate unfolded her arms, she needed to stop being so defensive. Dutchy glanced up at her.

"Okay, so I answered yours now you answer mine... what happened between you and Ben?"

Kate didn't want to answer, she thought about it for a minute. He had come all this way because he was worried, if he could admit that then she at least owed it to him to be honest too.

"Okay, the night of your farewell, do you remember what happened?"

He nodded and grinned a little.

"How could I forget, that was the hardest slap I've ever experienced, wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley..."

She couldn't help but smile, she then remember she need to explain the rest, the smiled dropped off of her face.

"Yeah well, Ben took me home and I woke up the next day not really remembering a thing and then I found a note... apparently I had said some things that, to him, insinuated that I had feelings for you so he backed off. He moved to Sydney the next week and I assume he's living happily ever after..."

Dutchy raised an eyebrow.

"You think you said some things?"

Kate broke eye contact.

"Do you remember the night at my house when you asked about Mike and I proceeded to spill my guts and wrote myself off?"

"Yeah?"

"Well do you remember that night you promised me you'd never leave me?"

Dutchy slowly nodded his head realising what she was getting at, A single tear ran down her cheek.

"And what were you doing?"

Dutchy had no idea that that's what had made her upset, he reached out and touched Kate's arm.

"You remember that?"

"Of course I do Dutchy, you were, you are my best friend!"

There was an awkward pause, Dutchy didn't know if that was her trying to let him down gently.

Kate tried to sit up, Dutchy attempted to help, their eyes met. Kate looked away.

"So where's Sarah?"

Dutchy sat back down and looked at the floor.

"Back in Geelong."

Kate was surprised she didn't come with him.

"Is she mad that you're here?"

He avoided the question.

"Hey, it's my turn..."

Kate rolled her eyes and waited for his question.

"Why didn't you go after Ben?"

Kate swore in her head, she knew this was coming, she avoided eye contact.

"I couldn't..."

She could feel his gaze on her.

"Why not?"

Kate hit his arm.

"Hey, if this is the way we're doing it, it's my turn!"

Dutchy scoffed and playfully hit her on the arm.

"Umm 'I couldn't' isn't an answer..."

She folded her arms over her chest, her defences went up again.

"Yes it is!"

Dutchy stood up and paced around the room.

"Kate McGregor you are so infuriating!"

Kate let out a little laugh.

"I miss arguing with you!"

A smile came across Dutchy's face and he sat back down.

"I've missed you Kate... I don't need 20 questions, I only need 1..."

He held her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

"Forget all the complicated life stuff, the rules, the navy, black and white, truth time. Do you feel *anything* for me?"

Kate took a deep breath in.

"Dutchy..."

She couldn't help but hesitate, she didn't mean to but it was her first instinct.

He stood up and let out a frustrated huff.

"Damn it Kate, what more do I have to do for you?"

He stormed out of her room, he couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't keep trying to pry it out of her, she either felt it or she didn't. Emily tried to run after him but he was too fast, he ran out of the hospital. Emily stood in the corridor torn between chasing after Dutchy and checking on Kate. She stomped her foot and headed for Kate's room, she knocked and entered.

"Kate? What the hell?"

She leaned back on the bed and ran her hands through her hair.

"What is wrong with me?"

Emily sat down next to her and sighed.

"Did he tell you?"

Kate nodded.

"I don't know why I hesitated..."

"He didn't tell you everything then, you wouldn't have hesitated if you knew..."

Kate looked concerned.

"Knew what?"

Emily didn't want to be the one to tell her that he gave up everything for her but she had to know, else he may never tell her.

"He left the navy Kate, they wouldn't give him the time off to help search for you so he quit..."

Kate closed her eyes.

"No Em, why did he do that?"

Emily stood up and shook Kate by the shoulders.

"Kate, I'm going to slap you!"

She grabbed Kate's phone and handed it to her, Kate looked at it. Emily let out a frustrated huff.

"Oh for God's sake Kate. You love him! Say it out loud with me... You love Dylan..."

Kate slowly took the phone from Emily's hand.

"I love Dylan..."

Emily rolled her eyes.

"It's a miracle! Now how bloody hard was that?"

Kate looked up at Emily and smiled.

"I do, I love him Em..."

Emily gave her a prompting look.

"Well?"

She frantically dialled Dutchy's number, there was no answer.

"I need to get out of here! I need to talk to him."

Emily grinned from ear to ear.

"That a girl! I'll go get a nurse and see what I can do..."

45 minutes later.

Emily came back into Kate's room.

"They don't wanna let you out Kate..."

Kate didn't look impressed, she ripped the monitor chords off her body.

"This is ridiculous..."

She pushed the call button as she got out of bed.

"Give me 20 minutes!"

She started to stuff her belongings into her bag.

15 minutes later Emily walked back into her room and handed her a pair of crutches.

"Wow, you're pretty scary when you want to be!"

Kate grabbed the crutches from her and gave her a sweet smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

They arrived at Mike and Emily's house, Kate paused at the door.

"I can do this!"

They walked into the house, it was quiet. Emily ran upstairs and checked the spare room, she flung open the cupboards, his things were gone. She walked out to the lounge where Kate was waiting, she could tell by the look on Emily's face that they were too late.

"Sorry Kate, he's gone..."

She took out her phone and called him again, it had been switched off.

"Damn it!"

Kate started to feel a bit feint, she put her hand to her head. Emily rushed to her side.

"Kate, sit down, you need your rest, I promised the doctor that I would look after you."

Kate dialled Dutchy's number again but it was still off.

A few days later Kate was sulking around the house, Dutchy hadn't returned any of her phone calls, he wasn't even returning Emily's calls.

Emily stood in front of Kate who was sitting on the couch watching TV. She blocked Kate's view and held out her hand.

"Give me your credit card..."

Kate frowned and tried to look around her.

"Why?"

"I'm booking you a flight to Geelong."

Kate froe and looked up at her.

"Em..."

"Kate, I know you love him, Mike knows you love him, you know you love him. The only person who doesn't know is Dutchy. This is your chance to show him... I think he's given up."

Kate took her card out of her purse and handed it to Emily.

"Oh and I'm booking 2 tickets, I'm too emotionally invested in this not too see it out..."

Kate laughed.

"Wouldn't have it any other way..."

Later that day Kate and Emily stood outside the Geelong airport.

"Okay, we didn't think this through, I have no idea where he lives."

Emily took out her phone and called Mike.

"Hey Honey, need a favour, Dutchy's address..."

"Huh? Why do you need Dutchy's address?"

Emily looked at Kate and smirked.

"So funny story, Kate and I are in Geelong..."

Kate hit Emily on the arm.

"You didn't tell Mike?"

Emily shrugged.

"I got caught up in the moment..."

Mike laughed.

"Oh Em, I love you but you're asking me to look up confidential information..."

"Michael Flynn... I swear to god if you don't..."

Mike knew when he was fighting losing battle.

"Okay, okay, ill text you in a minute..."

Emily hung up her phone and smiled satisfied.

"And that my dear, is how it's done..."

A couple of minutes later Mike sent through Dutchy's address.

They hired a car and drove to the address, Emily drove as Kate was too nervous.

They pulled up out the front of the address, Kate sat there frozen. Emily gave her a little nudge.

"Well?"

Kate took a deep breath in and got out the car, she walked up the front path and stopped as the door opened. Sarah walked out the door pulling a suitcase, she looked up and was stunned to see Kate standing there. She let out a laugh and walked up to her.

"You better be here to tell him you love him..."

Kate laughed nervously, Sarah smiled politely and walked off. Kate looked back to Emily who was sitting in the car and gave her a "WTF" look, Emily shrugged and waived her hand motioning her to go into the house.

Kate took another deep breath in and knocked on the door, there was no answer. She pushed on the already open door and called out.

"Dutchy?"

There was no answer. She cautiously walked inside looking around for him, she spotted him in the back yard having a beer. She stood at the backdoor trying to think of something to say.

"You left the Navy for me?"

Dutchy jumped at hearing her voice, she walked out and sat next to him.

"I can't believe you did that..."

Dutchy was still in shock, angry even.

"Really? After everything, you can't believe it?"

Kate understood his reaction, he had put everything on the line more than once and she had shot him down, now she had finally realised her feelings after he had given up.

"No, you're right, I can believe it, because it's you... umm I saw Sarah leaving..."

Dutchy closed his eyes and sat next to her.

"I should never have asked her to come with me, it was selfish but when I came here she told me that if I let that we were over. I couldn't just sit by and do nothing! She wanted me to choose, but it never was a choice, it wasn't my finest decision but you had rejected me so I tried it with someone else, I think deep down she knew though..."

"Dutchy, I'm so sorry! You have to understand why I had hesitations..."

"I did Kate, I get you were scared but you were right, you can't help who you fall in love with because I tried so hard for it not to be you! But all it took was for me to rescue you from kidnappers in the jungle for you to realise that..."

She laughed half heartedly.

"It's the standard test now days!"

He smiled and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. They were both startled as Emily fell though the doorway.

"Shit, sorry guys!"

They both laughed.

"It's okay Em, you can come in..."

She walked out on the veranda.

"Does that mean it's sorted?"

Kate sat there deep in thought.

"Hang on, if you quit how were you on the island?"

Dutchy cringed.

"Ah, yeah about that... I kinda lied... Mike's trying to save my bacon as we speak..."

Kate looked at Emily for confirmation, she nodded. Dutchy hit Kate on the arm.

"See how many rules I'm willing to break to be with you?"

Kate was astonished.

"Dutchy! What have you done?"

He shrugged.

"It doesn't matter Kate!"

"Dutchy! It does, I can't be the reason that you quit the Navy..."

"Kate! It's fine, plus I can't think of a better reason... Just promise me one thing?"

She rolled her eyes, she knew what was coming, it was her turn to promise to never leave him but she played along.

"What?"

He kissed her and laughed.

"If I can't find another job you'll buy me my chicken schnitzels?"

Emily laughed, Kate shook her head and kissed him.

"I promise!"

The End.

Well there it is! How it should have been, haha! Please don't forget to review! xx


	13. Epilogue

Hey everyone,

so are you ready for some fluff? Cos you're about to get it! I even cringed a little when I wrote it but i has to be this way because it ended in the exact opposite way that i wanted haha.

Enjoy!

20 Questions

Epilogue

10 months later.

Dutchy had moved back to Cairns and moved in with Kate. Kate had been reinstated on her shore posting and Dutchy had been hired as a fitness consultant with ADFA's new training facility at Navcom.

Mike fought hard for Dutchy and was let off with a warning for letting him go with the Kingston. Fleet Command acknowledged that Mike had no reason to question whether Dutchy was still enlisted and if they thought he was going to be at risk of doing something stupid they should have been notified by the Geelong base faster.

Kate arrived home from work, Dutchy had been home for a few hours and was making diner.

She walked up behind him, he turned around and gave her a kiss.

"Home by 7, that's a new record..."

She scoffed.

"Yeah sorry, I know I promised to be home early today."

"It's okay, you're forgiven..."

She wrapped her arms around Dutchy's neck.

"So how was your day?"

He grinned a devious grin.

"Excellent, we had a new bunch in today! I just love seeing the fear in their eyes!"

Kate laughed.

"It worries me a little that you take joy in scaring the new recruits! So anyway, why did you need me home early today?"

He smiled and glanced over at the bunch of peonies on the bench, she looked behind her and removed her arms from his neck and walked over to the bench.

"Aww Dutchy, what's the occasion?"

He shrugged.

"Cos I love you..."

She laughed.

"I know, you tell me every day..."

She walked over to him and kissed him.

"I love you to Dylan, but I know you're hiding something from me!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you think you know me so well McGregor..."

She playfully punched him on the arm.

"I'm pretty sure I know you better than you know me..."

She winked at him and walked into the bedroom to get changed.

He laughed and yelled out after her.

"Oh really?"

She poked her head out of the bedroom.

"Really!"

He laughed to himself and walked to the doorway.

"Wanna play 20 questions and see?"

She rolled her eyes.

"You're ridiculous..."

He laughed and walked back to the stove, he called out again.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I have one question left!"

She didn't respond and continued to get changed, Dutchy ran into the spare room and grabbed a large pink box and placed in on the kitchen bench. He strategically placed blocks of chocolate around it. He turned back around and continued to cook dinner, Kate came out of their room and stopped dead in her tracks seeing the chocolate and pink box.

"What's this?"

Dutchy turned off the stove and stood at the bench, she looked at him unimpressed, the box moved a little, Kate's face dropped and stepped back.

"If that's a snake..."

He laughed.

"Yeah, the chocolate's there to soften you up..."

She stepped back again, he approached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not a snake Kate...just open it."

She cautiously stepped towards the box and glanced over to him, he rolled his eyes.

"I promise it's not a snake..."

She raised an eyebrow at him and grabbed a chocolate bar and opened it and snapped of a piece and chucked it in her mouth.

She leaned forward and carefully took the top off the box trying to peer in. Her petrified face disappeared and it was replaced by a huge smile, she pulled a golden retriever puppy out of the box and hugged it, it had a giant pink bow around it's neck.

"Oh my god Dylan, she's so cute!"

"Well, I figured we're both on shore now, we have a somewhat normal life..."

She smiled as the puppy licked her face, she patted it's head and noticed something tied to its bow. She froze and glanced up at Dutchy, he walked over to her and untied the bow and took off a diamond ring. He put the puppy on the ground, Kate stood there speechless as Dutchy got down on one knee

"I better make my last question count yeah?"

Kate tried to steady her breathing, Dutchy reached out and took her hand in his.

"It may have taken us years to get here but I wasn't going to let it take years for me to do this. Kate McGregor, I love you with all my heart but you also drive me crazy. But as they say, don't marry someone you can live with, marry someone you can't live without, and I can't live without a little crazy in my life, so, will you marry me?"

Kate wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled.

"Of course I will!"

He slid the ring on her finger and stood up and gave her a kiss.

"So umm, I actually have proof that I know you better..."

He nodded towards the box, Kate was puzzled, she grabbed the box and pulled out a pregnancy test.

"What? I'm so confused Dylan..."

Kate flipped the test over and noticed the 2 pink lines. Dutchy picked up the puppy and walked up to her and stood close.

"Remember you said that you always wanted your kids to grow up with a dog."

Kate was completely taken a back.

"Ah, I, umm, how..."

Dutchy put the puppy down and laughed, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"McGregor, do I have to explain the birds and the bees to you?"

She turned and whacked him on the chest.

"No, I mean..."

Dutchy laughed and held her hand.

"Well, you've just been a bit different lately, not bad different, but different none the less."

She shot him an angry look, he rolled his eyes.

"It was the first thing I thought of, at first it was just gonna be a silly joke...and also..."

He looked down at her chest, she frowned and looked down. He was trying to think of a way to put his next sentence delicately.

"I also noticed that your shirts were getting tighter?"

Kate scoffed and hit him again.

"Trust you!"

They were silent for a minute, Kate let out a nervous laugh.

"We're having a baby?"

He smiled and hugged her, she pulled away giving him a funny look.

"How did you do the test?"

He laughed again.

"Ah, you know how the toilet was broken last week? Well I..."

She put her hands up to stop him.

"Actually, I don't think I wanna know..."

She cringed at the thought, Dutchy shrugged.

"We're gonna have to get used to pee and poo sooner or later."

They turned their heads as they heard the puppy pee on the carpet, Kate laughed.

"Well off you go! Lesson 1!"

Dutchy rolled his eyes and kissed her.

"The things I do for you!"

The End.

And sadly, we're done! Please let me know what you thought!

I've just started a new story, fully intending it to be K/M but it's not working lol Dutchy keeps getting in the way, anyone got any ideas for a K/M story? Haha


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